Simon Schama A History Of Britain - Part Two [2000]

Product Details

Actor : Timothy West, Bill Paterson, James Bolam
Format : Box set, PAL
Binding : VHS Tape
EAN : 5014503720827
Number of Discs : 2
Product Group : Video
Release Date : 2002-09-09
Studio : 2 Entertain Video

ASIN : B00005OCTU

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Editorial Reviews

Synopsis

One of Britain's foremost historians presents an investigation into British history from civil war to world war. He also discusses what shapes a nation and what can be learnt from the past. Contains the final nine episodes taken from the television series.

Customer Reviews

Even better than the first series (2003-01-13)

Schama really gets his teeth into the period covered in the second series of the History of Britain. The arguments are stronger, the people and situations become more alive. This may be because he knows the period better, or because, being closer to us historically, there's a greater wealth of information with which to make a better analysis, or because he himself has simply grown as a TV-historian since the first series. Whatever, what you get is a series of pithy documentaries detailing the underlying reasons why our history evolved as it did.I particularly enjoyed the programme on the birth of Empire. In it, Schama pulls no punches whatsoever, and offers an intriguing and convincing explanation as to why Britain's imperial aspirations became corrupted, turning our policies from those of liberty and the free-market into those of pompous, militaristic tyrants. You learn a lot that you wouldn't necessarily have garnered from school textbooks ; the overall flavour is rather iconoclastic, challenging our long-held assumptions and exposing some of the myths with which we have grown up. You really get the feeling that he has pulled the covers off Britain's history; no vanities are spared as he weaves his arguments and describes the motivations and actions of the key players on the scene.There is also an improvement in the visual back-up to his arguments, which is important given the chosen medium of television. Again, this is partly due to the fact that there is more to see of recent history than of ancient history, but his choice of sculptures, country houses, paintings and artefacts, all replete with symbolism, helps very well to support his arguments. I'm not quite sure that it was really necessary for him to travel to the (modern) US, the Caribbean, India and other places himself, but you can hardly begrudge him that if the Beeb was willing to pay for the trip. And yet my only minor grouch would be that they could have invested more in some of the images they showed – there is a lot of repetition, and the images of a candle in a dark room or a wine goblet crashing to the floor add very little.In conclusion, if you saw part or even all of the series this is a good buy, or an excellent gift to a history-buff friend, and it is a welcome return to the successful format of passionate experts making sense of complex subjects for a general but inquisitive public. Well done, Mr. Schama and the Beeb.

Simon Schama - A History of Britain Volume 2 (2002-07-16)

Following on from his first volume of a History of Britain, Simon Schama continues his wonderful combination of social, political and art history of Britain. It manages to avoid all the confrontational issues which have arisen with Britain becoming more and more multicultural, without being patronising. For me, it filled in the gaps that either school didn't cover, or maybe I wasn't paying attention at the time. A wonderful book to add to your collection. Can't wait for the final volume to come out.

A good comprehensive historial collection for all the family to understand Britian's past.

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