A HISTORY OF BRITAIN I At the Edge of the World 3000BC-AD1603

"Delightful" is not an adjective applied to serious history; nonetheless, it well applies to this account of events in Britain from prehistory to the fifteenth century. The author writes with such wit, informality, and personal investment that the listener attends with considerable pleasure and interest. Reader Stephen Thorne enters cheerfully into the conspiracy to beguile the listener. His English baritone is always amiable, always wedded expressively to the text, always sounding as if he woke up that morning eager to get back to the sound studio. One may miss the illustrations and notes of the printed page, but the narrative flow gains power without digressive notes, and the vividness of the writing and quality of reading more than compensate for pictures. In a bygone era, scholars were expected to uphold a high standard of writing, as well as scholarship. This volume more than meets that expectation while Thorne shows us what history should sound like. Y.R. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/ NOV 04]