A Short History of England - G K Chesterton

When G K Chesterton wrote this book World War I was still raging and, perhaps in reaction to this great conflict, he eschewed a 'normal' method of presenting history. Instead, 'A Short History of England' takes a broad-brush thematic approach, concentrating on the great historic movements that swept through Britain, and their consequences for later generations. The result is a wonderful, charming account of his native land, full of characteristic pithy comments and his trademark wit (Henry VIII, we are told, "was almost as unlucky in his wives as they were in their husband.") Few will concur with the whole of Chesterton's thesis, but all will be enlightened and entertained, perhaps agreeing with George Bernard Shaw that the author "is at once the most concise and the fullest historian this... country has yet found."