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Title: In Search of England: Journeys into the English Past by Michael Wood ISBN: 0-520-23218-6 Publisher: University of California Press Pub. Date: 06 August, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.7 (10 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: What a book! What a guy!
Comment: Michael Wood is a rare historian - one who loves books and land, and people. Erudite, enthusiastic, plangent and moving, "In Search of England" is a life-changing history for anyone who reads it. Wood obviously loves Roman Britain, Anglo-Saxon and Medieval as well, although the book also draws connections reaching into early modern, nineteenth and twentieth centuries. So the whole continuum is there.
The book falls into three sections:
1. Myth and History. Wood excavates the popularity of icons such as King Arthur, sifting the evidence to pin them down in real time. The sociology is interesting, particularly in the case of Robin Hood ("Merrie Englande").
2. Manuscripts and Mysteries. Wearing his learning lightly, Wood shows the fascination of books, tracing one little book on its journey all the way back to Northern Italy. Wood revels in the tales of John Leland, antiquarian to Henry VIII; of Bishop Asser, who wrote the biography of Alfred the Great; and of a possible biography of King Athelstan, Alfred's grandson.
3. Landscapes and People. I first regarded this section with some dread. How was it going to hold my interest, with such local emphasis? But each chapter, with each place subtly differentiated, sheds a fascinating light on England. And in each, Wood does take a journey, justifying the subtitle of his book: "JOURNEYS Into the English Past".
He explores a craftsman ("The Last Bowl-Turner of England"); a wood where Athelstan defeated the Vikings in 937AD ("Tinsley Wood"); "A Devon House" is all about continuity of occupancy; "Peatling Magna" shows a village community becoming politicized in 1265; "Jarrow and English History" deals with the beginnings of English historical writings under the Venerable Bede.
Best is last. The "Epilogue: "An English Family", shows both multiculturalism and patriotism off to their best effect, bringing things bang up to date with an incredible twist on your expectations as a reader.
Yes, it helps if you know English history. If you don't, read this book with a date chart or search some of the people and places mentioned above on the Web first.
And when you read this book, prepare to feel uplifted and humbled, and privileged to be on this planet, Earth. Wood will immediately take his place on your list of ideal drinking companions.
Rating: 5
Summary: Absorbing mind-candy for the medievalist
Comment: I always pick up Wood's newest work in English history with high anticipation and I've never been disappointed yet. This volume is a collection of semi-independent chapters collected under three themes. "Myth and History" includes essays that discuss the historical notion of the "Norman yoke," an exceptional piece on the meaning of "Englishness," and three good summary updates on the status of research into King Arthur, Robin Hood, and Glastonbury as Avalon. "Manuscripts and Mysteries" is a fascinating series of paleographical and bibliological essays on John Leland's visit to the library of Glastonbury Abbey on the eve of Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries, a re-examination of the authenticity of Asser's life of King Alfred, a reconstitution of the lost "Life of Athelstan," and an investigation of the peregrinations of a little psalter now in the British Library. "Landscapes and People" covers the artifactual side of English history, with the stories of the last bowl-turner in England (using pre-Conquest technology well into the 20th century), Tinsley Wood in South Yorkshire as the possibly location of the key Battle of Brunanburh, Bury Barton in north Devon as a probable surviving Roman/Anglo-Saxon farmstead, the resistence by the villagers of Peatling Magna in 1265 against the king following the Battle of Evesham (the peasants took the king's Marshal to court!), the story of Bede's tenure at Jarrow and what has happened to the site since, and a thoroughly fascinating genealogical story involving the exact origins of the ex-slaves of Barbuda. To anyone with the slightest interest in English medieval history and society, this book will be a rich and very satisfying experience.
Rating: 5
Summary: Wood delivers his own brand of English history
Comment: Michael Wood has such a tremendous enthusiasm for history and books, it is impossible not to swept along by his joy. If you had not seen his television series, you might picture him as a hunched over academic scrouging through his books. No, he is a very energetic outdoorsy type with a real charm and flair for history.
I read this book after reading his work on the Trojan War and Alexander the Great. Both are fine books, particularly his amazing quest in the footsteps of Alexander. This work is a far better book, more detailed and more personal. He ranges over thousands of years of English history and enjoys bouncing ideas through time and space.
Wood is at his best when his describes the joy of old books and the historical treasure they contain. The pain of libraries being destroyed are very real in Wood's work.
The book is collection of largely unrelated essays are based on the title of H.V Morton's travel books. I enjoyed immensely his item on Morton and the story behind his stories.
The essay on an old english wood is one of the best pieces of historical detective work I have read - all the better in that he does not answer the question he sets out with.
The essays do not jell as a group into a systematic view of English history. They are the work of a highly gifted story teller who enjoys the practice and art of history.
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Title: In Search of the Dark Ages by Michael Wood ISBN: 0816047022 Publisher: Facts on File Pub. Date: 01 July, 2001 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Shakespeare by Michael Wood ISBN: 0465092640 Publisher: Basic Books Pub. Date: 14 October, 2003 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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Title: In the Footsteps of Alexander The Great: A Journey from Greece to Asia by Michael Wood ISBN: 0520231929 Publisher: University of California Press Pub. Date: 06 August, 2001 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: In Search of the Trojan War by Michael Wood ISBN: 0520215990 Publisher: University of California Press Pub. Date: 01 May, 1998 List Price(USD): $16.05 |
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Title:In Search of Shakespeare ASIN: B00019JRFY Pub. Date: 09 March, 2004 List Price(USD): $39.98 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $34.78 |
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