A History of Britain: Fate of Empire 1776 - 2000 Vol 3 (BBC Radio Collection)

Unlike the previous volumes, Schama only pays lip-service to the familiar narrative of British history. The great, the good and the unsung are all there--the Lake poets, Queen Victoria, Benjamin Disraeli, Mary Seacole, Winston Churchill and George Orwell--but Schama uses them as voices through which a different history of Britain can be heard. Ireland, India, the urban poor, suffragettes and striking miners are all restored to the national story. The emphasis on empire (along with India and Ireland the largest subject-entry in the index) is particularly welcome, although the finest hour of empire--the First World War--is dealt with all too briefly.

Along the way Schama reveals himself once more as one of the world's finest cultural historians, with brilliant vignettes on Rousseau in England, the 1851 exhibition, Orwell's complex patriotism and much else, together with original insights on photography, the effect of empire on English vocabulary, and the post-war "colouring" of Britain. For beginners this is an excellent 21st century perspective on modern British history. For connoisseurs it is a refreshing reminder of how little British history the English really know. --Miles Taylor

The book is excellent - easy to read, interesting and detailed enough without getting bogged down in the minutiae. This is not a book for someone who wants a detailed description of World Wars I and II for instance. Instead, it provides an overall picture of the growth and development of todays Britain over the last 2oo years.


Unorthodox take on British History   October 12, 2003
30 out of 33 found this review helpful

The final volume of the 3-book series is as beautifully packaged and illustrated as the previous volumes and Schama'a narrative is as splendid as ever. Like the T.V. series, this third volume is a little annoying in the fact that Schama is obsessed with the arts to the detriment of the sciences. This is certainly a unique view on British history, such as the over-emphasis on the French Revolution in the first section, and many great characters such as Brunel have little to play in Schama's view of events. Schama seems intent on celebrating more obscure people at the expense of the more mundane. (I.e. No Nelson, Drake, Dickens is less significant a writer than Gaskilll, etc.)The chapters on the British Empire show Schama willing to trot out old cliches, something he intended not to do in his Preface in Volume 1. Here, the reader would be better directed to Niall Ferguson's excellent book where Schama's weaknesses become more apparent. There is plenty to read on the build-up to WW 2 but the actual conflict is almost mentioned in passing. WW1 gets even less attention.
I really enjoyed Volume 1 and felt that the author dealt with Medieval History in a clear, concise and witty manner. Volume 2 is the least interesting as Schama spent too much time dealing with constitutional issues. However, Volume 3 is too eccentric to be considered authoritive and is content to reduce the last 50 years to a few pages.
As a whole, the series is ambitious but Schama is too controversial in the emphasis he gives his different subjects. Norman Davies' book is also an interesting read, but ,equally not authorative, although more detailed. Readers interested in Pre-history will be disappointed by both books.


The final volume of an enthralling saga   October 3, 2003
A. Davies (UK)
3 out of 11 found this review helpful

This final installment of A History of Britain is another faced paced ride, more akin to Volume 1 than 2, through twentieth century trials and tribulations of an Empire is descent. Peppered with often amusing anecdotes of the likes of Churchill, Orwell etc, Schama's take on modern British history is unashamedly personal, and always highly entertaining.

Taken as a whole, these 3 volumes have covered an enormous task extremely well. Highly recommended as a solid, broad coverage of national history, with a uplifting view of our future.


Thematic rather than purely narrative approach blunts impact   February 12, 2003
Peter Fenelon
32 out of 37 found this review helpful

In many respects, Volume 3 of Schama's History of Britain was doomed - then again, so's the country. This volume takes the story from the American Revolution to the new Millennium, chronicling the loss of the American colonies, the building of an empire centred around India, Africa and Australasia, high Victoriana, and the magnificent yet slow decline through two world wars that have left Britain a minor European power with delusions of grandeur.

Unlike the generally straightforward chronological approach of the first two volumes, though, Schama has taken a rather more thematic approach to history in Volume 3 - the clear sense of ongoing narrative has been subsumed into rather more background and rather more focus on individual details. This makes Vol 3 feel rather different to its predecessors and I for one preferred the more narrative approach Schama initially adopted.

Schama's writing is as crisp and powerful as ever - just the right blend of colloquialism, precision and description. This History of Britain has been far more than a "book of the TV series"; it is a compelling literary work that stands proudly alone too.

The only book on British history to come close to Schama's efforts in terms of readability and scope is Norman Davies' "The Isles: A History".