Sunday, September 30, 2007

Who's Who In British History

         The History Today Who's Who In British History

                         Edited by Juliet Gardiner

A few months ago I came across a reference to this book.  I can't remember where or what the subject under discussion was, but I thought it might be a handy reference book to have around.  A couple of weeks ago I found a copy on Ebay with a starting bid at $5.00.  I was the only bidder and got it for that plus shipping.

It's a very handsome book, about three inches thick, with 40,000 entries covering over 2,000 years of British history.  (I could do without Cromwell's picture on the front, but I can live with it.)  The book was published in 2000 by Collins & Brown, Limited.

The book is edited by Juliet Gardiner, who also wrote the preface, but the entries are authored by six historians distinguished in their fields, with specialist contributions from eight period historians.  The entries are concise, but very descriptive.  The contributors chose for inclusion who they thought defined the historical period of their own expertise.  It is quite a comprehensive list, but by no means is it complete.  A complete "who's who" would undoubtedly fill a dozen more such volumes.   The book is easy to navigate, and I have been having a lot of fun with it.

My copy is in pristine condition with no tears in the dust jacket and no writing or stamping on the book at all; and I consider it a good bargain for the price I paid.  The original price inside the book jacket is £25.

I am proud to have it on my reference shelves.

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