The English and Their History

By: Robert Tombs

Narrated by: James Langton

Length: 43 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

Robert Tombs' momentous The English and Their History is both a startlingly fresh and a uniquely inclusive account of the people who have a claim to be the oldest nation in the world. The English first came into existence as an idea, before they had a common ruler and before the country they lived in even had a name. They have lasted as a recognizable entity ever since, and their defining national institutions can be traced back to the earliest years of their history.

The English have come a long way from those first precarious days of invasion and conquest, with many spectacular changes of fortune. Their political, economic, and cultural contacts have left traces for good and ill across the world. This book describes their history and its meanings, from their beginnings in the monasteries of Northumbria and the wetlands of Wessex to the cosmopolitan energy of today's England. Tombs draws out important threads running through the story, including participatory government, language, law, religion, the land and the sea, and ever-changing relations with other peoples.

©2014 Robert Tombs (P)2016 Tantor

Critic reviews

"European history buffs and readers undaunted by a 1,000-page history will find a lucid, engaging, and pleasantly nondidactic book, with helpful maps." ( Kirkus)

Skips around from century to century.

This could be a great book if the author had taken each century at a time. Instead he jumps from one century to another and back again. Fortunately I have a base knowledge of England to understand the centuries, but it became too tedious to try and follow. This is not for the beginner of England’s history.

Outstanding!

Long but worth every minute!
Incredible narration.
Only weakness is poor coverage of the Proteatant Reformation. This section lacked the balanced and enthusiastic coverage of every other subject.

Full of promise, but disappointing in the end

I first purchased this as an audible book and was so enthralled with it that I bought a hard copy before finishing it. Now, I’m sorry I did. The first half of the book was fascinating and made me proud to have English heritage. I finally understood so much about world history never taught in school and the relationships between England and its nearest neighbors within the British Isles. However, as an American with a fairly firm grip on “the rest of the story”, I was disappointed by the author’s blatant distaste for Americans, starting in 1776. He starts to leave out facts at that point and by the time he gets to WWII, he is blaming America for England’s financial woes and economic collapse. He makes the accusation that America purposely destroyed England financially after the war and the only contributions made during the war were all disastrous, inept and worthless. At that point I couldn’t even finish the book. Sorry I bought it without checking his prejudices first. If you are English and nostalgic for the days of the empire and English imperialism, I recommend it.

Sweeping, succinct, open for debate and humble

as an American who has read a lotbof history, and lived through the 60s etc., i found the summations and explanations extraordinarily well done. How to sum up 1,000 +years of history? a great achievement. enough peesonal opinion and side-taking to give it bite and leavening. not a slog. how could it be a romp? left me better informed not just re English but re all narratives of peoples.

An Apology of the Modern English State

When looking at what is included in the book and how much of it is included is perplexing at first. About half the book is dedicated to the 20th century. The rest of the book seems more to skim history than cover it. The only rubric that makes sense is that the author sought to explain how the modern English (more than British) political outlook came to be. That ends up meaning that the older something is, the less important it is. It also means that history is only covered from how it impacted the the Isles. The whole British Empire seems to be mere decoration on the Isles.

The book also suffers from the tone that whatever the English did, advocated, or had happened to them was for the best. The entire discussion of World War II is completely devoid of any understanding of operational military planning. What happened was what must have happened. Given how much he spends on the war, it makes this part of the book more of a slog than it had to be.

An enjoyable take on England's history

A different and challenging approach to the history of England, much appreciated and enjoyed.

Much more than I actually wanted.

Very good, and extremely detailed especially the last 1/3. I personally could have stopped at the half way point because that covers the time I'm most interested in.

An Anglophile history of england

If you could sum up The English and Their History in three words, what would they be?

anglophilic political drama

What other book might you compare The English and Their History to and why?

A similar concept, though far more in depth is Churchill's history of the English speaking peoples. Ironically Churchill's history does far less to cover up the insults and atrocities of the English on the world at large. The English and Their History tries to downplay the claims that the English kept a violently imperialist thumb over India and that the the Irish potato famine was exacerbated by the English parliament as a means of genocide.

What about James Langton’s performance did you like?

He adequately captured the often light hearted tone of several of the asides, something often difficult during a long historical reading.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I was quite fascinated by the authors insights into the development of the English language. He makes a concerted effort to focus on political, social, and literary changes and avoids getting lost in lengthy analyses of wars and battles as many historians do.

Any additional comments?

This book, for the most part, focuses on England after the Norman conquest. If you are looking for an earlier history this is not for you. Also, the author goes all the way up to events in 2013, so if you have an active interest in English or British politics you may want to skip the last 3 hours or so.

Simply OUTSTANDING.

I am ready to listen again for another 43 hrs and 15 mins, it is so well narrated. Good job, James Langton!

Comprehensive and Interesting

Easily the most enjoyable way I have ever learned about history. I have listened to and read plenty of other histories and this is the best by far. The author and narrator do an excellent job of keeping it detailed comprehensive and interesting.