The Making Of The British Landscape: From the Ice Age to the Present

This book takes you on a wonderful, lyrical journey through the physical history of the islands of Britain, starting as they came out of the last Ice Age and taking us right through to the building of the Shard. Nicholas Crane is very positive in his notion that he set out to provide 'a clean story' and not a reference book. He also states that to care about a place you must first know its story. He succeeds brilliantly in giving us a clean story about 'the place' of Britain. I do not want to delve too deeply into the story he tells, but in twenty-two chapters he covers almost every aspect of that story in intriguing detail. Every one of his chapters is memorable and exciting because his background research has been so comprehensive that he is able to show us new information about places and things we thought we already knew about. Other reviewers have complained bitterly about the lack of maps, but read the book as a story and you will not need them because his excellent bibliography provides all the subsidiary information you could desire. In fact by following up the access to modern studies he provides, you could become an expert in the making of our beloved place of Britain. Any intelligent adult or older child with a sense of curiosity would be thrilled to receive this book as a Christmas present.

I really enjoyed reading the kindle edition of this book. Combines UK geography with history and is very readable. Puts the history of the UK in context. I am of the generation when history was taught badly in school and this book deals with the history of the British landscape in a very interesting way. The book is thorough and detailed and is obviously well researched by Mr Crane. The kindle edition seems to mix up some of the paragraphs out of synch which is disappointing but don’t let this put you off.

I'm not a big fan of his style on TV but was impressed when I heard him on an old Start the Week on Radio 4. He has a beautiful writing style that evokes the countryside cities and the landscape during these islands fortunes over maybe 5,000 years. Was fascinated that the economy and landscape developed until it reached a peak in the 12th century, and how the Black Death combined with a cooling climate (and the 100 years war, I'd have thought, though that isn't mentioned) threw things back to pre-Roman times. Then the development of proper market towns, the rise of Norwich and East Anglia with the wool trade, until coal and steel started the industrial revolution. The fact that it hasn't been continuous progress in the past and that the climate can change on its own for hundreds of years is quite a revalation.

A great and interesting read, well worth reading.

I cannot add anything to the reviews below other than say I agree with all of the positive ones. I Love this book.

On the face of it, a well-researched book. However, I have spotted a number of errors in the last chapter covering recent history. Surely anyone reasonably well informed of Crane's generation knows that Neil Kinnock did not become prime minister, having been beaten by Thatcher in 1987 and Major in 1992. His account of the need to build emergency housing immediately after the second world war is spoilt by his ignorance about the meaning of no-fines concrete (it is not that it contains no aggregate, but that it contains only coarse aggregate, bound by cement). A small point, perhaps, but it does make you wonder how many other "facts" Crane has got wrong. In particular, I wonder how reliable he is on more distant events, of which I know little, but am keen to learn.

There were humans in Britain before the last ice age but the glaciers caused them to retreat south and erased most evidence of their presence. As the climate warmed and the ice melted they gradually moved north again, and have been in occupation ever since. This book follows the human history throughout this time, and the way it shaped the landscape. Perhaps it's important to stress this point - the book largely follows a human story - it's about the land that's cleared, the farms that are made, the buildings that are built and the industry that's pursued. It's a history book with an emphasis on our connection to the land. Crane's style is to paint pictures with words. I suspect if you like him as a TV presenter you'll like this book, though personally I prefer a more descriptive text. He gives accounts of the way things happened thousands of years ago with a level of detail that makes me think he's reading between the lines of the evidence a little. I'd have preferred some accounts of the archaeological finds and how they have been interpreted, but we get none of these. For me his style leaves me a little wanting for more factual details and fewer words. And some of the detail that is missing is a little surprising. He sometimes seems to be deliberately cryptic about places - giving clues to location but omitting place names. There are also no maps or illustrations but there are some excellent photographs - it really needs both. This is my first book on the subject and I've learnt quite a lot, but I'm slightly left wondering if I could have learnt more. Those who enjoy Crane on TV and who appreciate a picture painting literary stye will probably like this book the most.

Still reading at the time of writing but I see no reason why it would not end up being 5* (I have 3/4 of the way through). Nicholas has a nice style of writing and is easy to understand. The content itself is fascinating. I had a slightly odd issue with my first copy as, come about page 190, pages from an entirely different book appeared! Took me a while to work out that we weren't suddenly invaded by witches. Amazon sent a replacement immediately and this one has no such problem so clearly an isolated incident. However, if you do order one, check it out before reading as it is quite an annoying error to find.

In the main speculative verbiage. ("Although the evidence is lacking, by the fifth millennium B.C. ...") Diffuse language, unusable.

Interesting and informative.

This is a remarkable book. 12,000 years of how climate, architecture, urbanism, economics, and politics all shaped the landscape. Well researched and very readable. Have a new understanding of how the landscape of Britain evolved. Puts current issues in great perspective. A wonderful find. Strongly recommend.

Beautifully written, and packed with information. I agree with other reviewers that maps would be welcome, but they would also make the book into a heavy reference tome. Enjoy the prose and use google when necessary.

This is a thoroughly interesting and authoritative review of the UK's prehistory. I recommend it to anyone who wonders when, for example, Britain separated from the European continent and what happened before and after. What kind of humans, flora and other fauna occupied our homeland and what tangible traces they left behind. Perhaps this book should be used in schools?