David Ross England: History of a Nation

David Ross England: History of a Nation book review - For many people, History can be a least-favourite subject. And for those for whom that is true, it's just not going to work for you, ever. If it were a colour it would be grey. If it were a meteorological condition it would be drizzle. A state of mind? Torpor. And this pre-set notion is engendered when? At school I'm afraid ' " the now-discredited method of churning out dates and names in a repetitive monologue to be recited and regurgitated without thought, without analysis, is what made certainly the History taught'back in our day'such an unmemorable (which is somewhat ironic) waste of time.

Few of us got lucky. Few of us got any colour added, be it a spice of personality here, a primary reference there, a local interest here, a sensible modern context there. Thankfully, I did. I'm showing my age somewhat, but my O level tutor genuinely cared about the mistakes being made of Britain's inexorable descent into armed conflict with Germany. And for A level, the causes of discontent that led Walter Scott to claim'the country is mined below our feet'was portrayed by my tutor with such a fervour and fury that would have had Lord Liverpool reaching for the reactionary legislation. All they had done is make it real for me, and all I have done since then is appreciate that history is simply real stories that have happened.

To take one a story-telling exercise that covers such ground as the entire history of a given nation, is ambitious to say the least. And what to leave out, what to skip altogether, and what to say with sufficient pr cis to keep the size down, but with sufficient detail to make the point stick, takes some skill. And talking of skill, I have no doubt the editors probably had a rare old time of it earning their crust on this project too.

But to his eternal credit, David Ross does a fabulous job here. I say this because there is an evident keenness to tell, but a restraint that is necessary in such a lengthy tale; the passion is never far away, and the use, where it is permitted, of appropriate stress and emphasis, is cleverly done.

Of course, with a history book, and one which is trawling the same ground as has been covered a thousand times and more, we are not here to question the validity of the factual content, nor the references on which it is based. We can however applaud the sparing but sensible references to the more comprehensive titles on specific subject areas. Doffing one's cap to AJP Taylor for 20th Century British History illustrates this point.

But I think what makes this book such a success is that the spirit of the enthusiastic tutor clearly lives on. As an audio book I fancy this would go down a treat " my suggestion to the publishers is to grab a blustering Simon Callow, or perhaps a caustic Richard E Grant or a deranged John Sessions" But I digress; the spirit of enthusiasm is what makes this readily accessible. If this is targeted at the student or entry-level history reader, it's got it about right. For the rest of us, it is a timely reminder of some great stories told, re-energised to be totally inclusive.