About Britain is a book to take beyond the capital to explore Britain as a living country. In 1951, thirteen guides celebrated the rural splendour of our island nature, and now historian Tim takes to the roads, to find out what has changed, and what has remained the same, in the 70 years since these guides were first published.
From Oban (in the Highlands) to Torquay and taking in Welsh Caernarvon to Cambridge, he explores the visible changes to our landscape, and the more subtle social and cultural shifts that lie beneath. This is a warm and timely meditation on our changing relationship with the landscape, industry and transport.
As he looks out on apple orchards and vineyards, power stations and slate mines, and (in the modern age) vast greenhouses and fulfillment centres for shopping online, this is a stark contrast with the guidebooks of yesteryear.
Contents
- West Country
- Wessex
- Home counties
- East Anglia
- Chilterns to Black Country
- South Wales and the Marches
- North Wales and the Marches
- East Midlands the Peak
- Lancashire and Yorkshire
- The Lakes to Tyneside
- Lowlands of Scotland
- Highlands and Islands of Scotland
About the Author
Professor Tim Cole is Professor of Social History at Bristol University. He previously wrote a book on the Holocaust, which was commended by the jury of the Fraenkel Prize.
