Book excerpt: Very often, history is thought of as that lesson we suffered through at school, made into boring facts and figures rather than the rich and interesting tales that actually comprise it. In English and British History in 100 Bite-size Chunks, history is enlivened and broken down into readable ‘chunks’ that anyone can read, and learn, at their leisure. Beginning at the beginning, with the physical formation of these lands, it ends where we are now, with our current lifestyle, government, society, beliefs, complexities, fears and hopes. It charts the development of England’s characteristics through the great and the good, and ordinary men and women; those who often get the glory and those who lived lives more hidden from history’s storytellers. It brings to life people, places, events and ideas; and successes and failures. This is not a story of England in splendid isolation but a more rounded picture touching on the influences from and on other places and nations, for good or bad, near and far in geography and time. 100 Bitesize Chunks are followed by a recognition of historic themes and some conclusions, and just a glimpse of the possible future history of a nation. A commentary on history itself, how we know, how ‘history works’, what we think of it, and how we care for it – or don’t care for it, this book is an encouragement to study history actively through the evidence we can see and touch and interpret, in museums and in its real locations. Ideal for anyone returning to history or for an enthusiast!