Remember, Remember (The Fifth of November): The History of Britain in Bite-Sized Chunks - Judy Parkinson

...in October 2008 her book Remember, Remember (The Fifth of November) was published.

Her newest effort Spilling the Beans on the Cat's Pyjamas: Popular Expressions - What They Mean and How We Got Them is due in the shops in September 2009.


== Contents ==

In Remember, Remember, the author has broken down British history into A5 sized, one page chunks, with a new heading for each.

...
...Dummies, I would have said Remember, Remember was an excellent book, but I better appreciated the Dummies version of British history for the following reasons.

British History for Dummies is a lot more comprehensive, but also longer. This need not put off readers who are in a hurry though, as they can leave out the clearly marked portions that give more than the basic facts.

Whichever way you want to read it, the humour ... more

The Author

Judy Parkinson seems to be on a crusade to help us learn and remember academic facts.

In August 2007 it was through the release of her book "i before e".

Then in October 2008 her book Remember, Remember (The Fifth of November) was published.

Her newest effort Spilling the Beans on the Cat's Pyjamas: Popular Expressions - What They Mean and How We Got Them is due in the shops in September 2009.

Contents

In Remember, Remember, the author has broken down British history into A5 sized, one page chunks, with a new heading for each.

The individual pages are bought together into the following chapters: Roman Britain, The Dark Ages, The Late Middle Ages, Tudor Britain, Stuart Britain, Georgian Britain, Victorian Britain, Edwardian Britain, The First World War Years, The Inter-War Years and The Second World War.

A full 5 page table of contents and 9 pages of index, as well as the first 6 pages of the 7 page chapter on Roman Britain, can currently be found through the "Look Inside" feature on the Amazon website.

Comparison of Contents with a Rival Publication

If I hadn't read British History of Dummies, I would have said Remember, Remember was an excellent book, but I better appreciated the Dummies version of British history for the following reasons.

British History for Dummies is a lot more comprehensive, but also longer. This need not put off readers who are in a hurry though, as they can leave out the clearly marked portions that give more than the basic facts.

Whichever way you want to read it, the humour in British History for Dummies makes the book entertaining as well as informative. This in turn made it easier for me to remember the facts.

As with Remember, Remember, there is a "Look Inside" feature on the Amazon website for you the see the full, much more extensive table of contents and index, which will help readers decide on how much detail they want to read.

By just looking at these tables of contents, you will see how The Dummies version has introduced some of its humour through the headings. I particularly appreciated the use of appropriate modern song titles in the headings, but other styles of humour may appeal better to different readers.

Price and Size Comparison with Rival

The hardcover, 192 page, A5 sized book Remember, Remember is currently selling on Amazon for the discounted price of £5.71 (RRP £9.99).

The paperback, 444 page, A4 sized book British History for Dummies is currently selling on Amazon for the discounted price of £7.99 (RRP £15.99).

Recommendation

I think that Remember, Remember is a good concise book containing the important parts of British history from the Roman Invasion of AD 43 to the founding of the United Nations at the end of the Second World War in 1945.

I prefer the book British History for Dummies, as it is more entertaining, which made the facts easier for me to remember, and more comprehensive, with the option of ignoring clearly marked chunks, which extend the basic facts.

COMPLETE BEGINNERS
If you are a complete beginner in British history, which will probably mean that you never went to school in Britain, then the concise book Remember, Remember is probably a great starting place for you.

IF YOU HAVE A VERY BASIC KNOWLEDGE
I believe that most readers, who already know a little British history from school, or the media, will better appreciate British History for Dummies.

 

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