Notes to self: BBC History's notable books of the year 2004
A few things I'd like to remember, for future reading, since it would be financially -- and physically -- impossible to acquire all of them at once.
Adamson, John. The Noble Revolt: A History of the English Civil War (Weidenfield) -- 2005. "[A] fierce opponent of the revisionist idea, propounded by Conrad Russell, of the war as a British affair of equal importance to all parts of Charles I's kingdom." (Paul Lay) Deserves a fair airing, at least.
Barron, Carolyn M. London in the Later Middle Ages: Government and People 1200-1500 (Oxford).
Bartlett, Robert. The Hanged Man (Princeton). "[A] wonderful micro-history... life, death, and belief in the English-Welsh border country of the Middle Ages." (Greg Neale)
[Benedictow, Ole J. The Black Death: 1346-1353 the Complete History (Boydell & Brewer). - advert]
Bowman, Alan. Life and Letters on the Roman Frontier: Vindolanda and its People (British Museum). "[C]ollates personal letters from Roman Britain (near Hadrian's Wall). They are a [sic] historian's dream, the Latin text superbly translated, edited and discussed by a leading authority." (Peter Jones)
Colls, Robert. The Identity of England (Oxford).
Coss, Peter. The Origins of the English Gentry (Cambridge). "[A] splendid analysis of the changing aristocracy of the hundred years after 1250..." (Michael Hicks)
[Crocker, Emma. The Home Front in Photographs: Life in Britain during the Second World War (Sutton). - advert]
Curry, Anne. Agincourt: A New History (Tempus).
David, Saul. Zulu: The Heroism and Tragedy of the Zulu War (Viking).
Flanders, Judith. The Victorian House (Harper Collins).
Forte, Angelo, Richard Oram and Frederick Pedersen. The Viking Empires (Cambridge).
Given-Wilson, Chris. Chronicles: The Writing of History in the Middle Ages (Hambledon and London).
Gray, John. Heresies (Granta). "[O]n the illusions of Progress and other progressive ideas..." (Robert Colls) An unfortunate choice of words on the part of the reviewer, but an interesting subject.
Holland, Mervin. Oscar Wilde: A Life in Letters (Fourth Estate).
Kenney, Kevin (ed). Ireland and the British Empire (OUP).
Levine, Phillipa (ed). Gender and Empire (OUP).
Mikalson, Jon D. Ancient Greek Religion (Blackwell). "In the absence of divine and therefore authoritative scriptures, there was no such thing as a church in the ancient Greek world, imposing creeds, beliefs and moralities... Mikalson makes full use of the original evidence from both (translated) texts and physical artefacts. His book is a model of how it should be done." (Peter Jones)
Peakman, Julie. Lascivious Bodies: A Sexual History of the Eighteenth Century (Atlantic).
Pearsall, Robert. Table Rappers: The Victorians and the Occult (Sutton).
[Pollard, A.J. Imagining Robin Hood (Routledge). - advert]
Ponting, Clive. The Crimean War (Chatto and Windus). "[S]uperb revisionist history... a salutary reminder that official mythmaking about war often begins before hostilities are even formally declared." (Rachel Holmes)
[Porter, Bernard. The Absent-Minded Imperialists:Empire, Society, and Culture in Britain (OUP) - advert]
Power, Samantha. A Problem from Hell (Harper Collins). "[A] timely exposure of American moralism and duplicity throughout the 20th century." (Jay Winter)
Renfrew, Colin and Paul Bahn. Archaeology: Theories, Methods and Practice [4th ed.] (Thames and Hudson).
Sampson, Anthony. Who Runs This Place? The Anatomy of Britain in the 21st Century (John Murray).
Santosuosso, Antonio. Barbarians, Marauders and Infidels: the Ways of Medieval Warfare (Westview). "[A]ccessible... overview of the development of medieval warfare, from Attila the Hun to the Renaissance." (Jonathan Harris)
Scott, David. Politics and War in the Three Stuart Kingdoms (Palgrave Macmillan). "[A] short but masterly survey that offers the most comprehensive re-think of the English Civil War in a generation." (John Adamson)
[Scott, Susan and Christopher Duncan. Return of the Black Death (Wiley). - advert]
Stevenson, David. 1914-1918: The History of the First World War (Allen Lane). "One of the most valuable portions... comes towards the end, where Stevenson examines the various legacies of the war from 1919 up to the present day, including a fascinating section on how historian's perspectives on the war have transformed our understanding of the conflict in recent years." (Gary Sheffield)
Sugden, John. Nelson: A Dream of Glory (Jonathan Cape). "[G]rounded... on previously unused letters and records... all secondary sources [subjected] to rigorous critical analysis... [A] fully rounded, completely credible Nelson driven by one master need: to be a hero." (Peter Padfield)
Sweet, Rosemary. Antiquaries: The Discovery of the Past in Eighteenth Century Britain (Hambledon and London).
[Worsley, Giles. The British Stable: An Architectural and Social History (Yale UP). - advert]
Adamson, John. The Noble Revolt: A History of the English Civil War (Weidenfield) -- 2005. "[A] fierce opponent of the revisionist idea, propounded by Conrad Russell, of the war as a British affair of equal importance to all parts of Charles I's kingdom." (Paul Lay) Deserves a fair airing, at least.
Barron, Carolyn M. London in the Later Middle Ages: Government and People 1200-1500 (Oxford).
Bartlett, Robert. The Hanged Man (Princeton). "[A] wonderful micro-history... life, death, and belief in the English-Welsh border country of the Middle Ages." (Greg Neale)
[Benedictow, Ole J. The Black Death: 1346-1353 the Complete History (Boydell & Brewer). - advert]
Bowman, Alan. Life and Letters on the Roman Frontier: Vindolanda and its People (British Museum). "[C]ollates personal letters from Roman Britain (near Hadrian's Wall). They are a [sic] historian's dream, the Latin text superbly translated, edited and discussed by a leading authority." (Peter Jones)
Colls, Robert. The Identity of England (Oxford).
Coss, Peter. The Origins of the English Gentry (Cambridge). "[A] splendid analysis of the changing aristocracy of the hundred years after 1250..." (Michael Hicks)
[Crocker, Emma. The Home Front in Photographs: Life in Britain during the Second World War (Sutton). - advert]
Curry, Anne. Agincourt: A New History (Tempus).
David, Saul. Zulu: The Heroism and Tragedy of the Zulu War (Viking).
Flanders, Judith. The Victorian House (Harper Collins).
Forte, Angelo, Richard Oram and Frederick Pedersen. The Viking Empires (Cambridge).
Given-Wilson, Chris. Chronicles: The Writing of History in the Middle Ages (Hambledon and London).
Gray, John. Heresies (Granta). "[O]n the illusions of Progress and other progressive ideas..." (Robert Colls) An unfortunate choice of words on the part of the reviewer, but an interesting subject.
Holland, Mervin. Oscar Wilde: A Life in Letters (Fourth Estate).
Kenney, Kevin (ed). Ireland and the British Empire (OUP).
Levine, Phillipa (ed). Gender and Empire (OUP).
Mikalson, Jon D. Ancient Greek Religion (Blackwell). "In the absence of divine and therefore authoritative scriptures, there was no such thing as a church in the ancient Greek world, imposing creeds, beliefs and moralities... Mikalson makes full use of the original evidence from both (translated) texts and physical artefacts. His book is a model of how it should be done." (Peter Jones)
Peakman, Julie. Lascivious Bodies: A Sexual History of the Eighteenth Century (Atlantic).
Pearsall, Robert. Table Rappers: The Victorians and the Occult (Sutton).
[Pollard, A.J. Imagining Robin Hood (Routledge). - advert]
Ponting, Clive. The Crimean War (Chatto and Windus). "[S]uperb revisionist history... a salutary reminder that official mythmaking about war often begins before hostilities are even formally declared." (Rachel Holmes)
[Porter, Bernard. The Absent-Minded Imperialists:Empire, Society, and Culture in Britain (OUP) - advert]
Power, Samantha. A Problem from Hell (Harper Collins). "[A] timely exposure of American moralism and duplicity throughout the 20th century." (Jay Winter)
Renfrew, Colin and Paul Bahn. Archaeology: Theories, Methods and Practice [4th ed.] (Thames and Hudson).
Sampson, Anthony. Who Runs This Place? The Anatomy of Britain in the 21st Century (John Murray).
Santosuosso, Antonio. Barbarians, Marauders and Infidels: the Ways of Medieval Warfare (Westview). "[A]ccessible... overview of the development of medieval warfare, from Attila the Hun to the Renaissance." (Jonathan Harris)
Scott, David. Politics and War in the Three Stuart Kingdoms (Palgrave Macmillan). "[A] short but masterly survey that offers the most comprehensive re-think of the English Civil War in a generation." (John Adamson)
[Scott, Susan and Christopher Duncan. Return of the Black Death (Wiley). - advert]
Stevenson, David. 1914-1918: The History of the First World War (Allen Lane). "One of the most valuable portions... comes towards the end, where Stevenson examines the various legacies of the war from 1919 up to the present day, including a fascinating section on how historian's perspectives on the war have transformed our understanding of the conflict in recent years." (Gary Sheffield)
Sugden, John. Nelson: A Dream of Glory (Jonathan Cape). "[G]rounded... on previously unused letters and records... all secondary sources [subjected] to rigorous critical analysis... [A] fully rounded, completely credible Nelson driven by one master need: to be a hero." (Peter Padfield)
Sweet, Rosemary. Antiquaries: The Discovery of the Past in Eighteenth Century Britain (Hambledon and London).
[Worsley, Giles. The British Stable: An Architectural and Social History (Yale UP). - advert]