A History of the English People

By: Paul Johnson

Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon

This is a provocative and panoramic survey of 2,000 years of English history. Johnson tells the story of how a small nation, living in a geographical backwater, developed unique economic and political institutions, expanded its territory, and saddled upon it the frame of a modern industrial society.

Paul Johnson, British author and historian, is the author of many books, including Modern Times, A History of the Jews, Intellectuals, The Birth of the Modern, and The Quest for God, which have been translated into many languages. He has been a frequent contributor to the Daily Telegraph, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Spectator, and other newspapers and magazines. He has lectured to academic, business, and political audiences all over the world.

©1985 Paul Johnson (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Beautifully constructed…. An idiosyncratic viewpoint has enabled Mr. Johnson to extract a great deal of new information to add to the conventional account of English, or British, history.” ( Times Literary Supplement)

“An excellent book that will stir up a great many people, and so it should.” ( New Statesman)

“He is abreast of modern scholarship, and a reader with some command of English history will find Johnson’s iconoclasm stimulating and challenging. His coverage of the last two hundred years deserves to be labeled brilliant historical journalism.” ( Library Journal)

Interesting

Humorous, biting, biased, clearly left-wing until discussing the modern Labour Party. From an American perspective, his treatment of the military aspects of WWI seems ludicrous if not dishonest.

I hoped for more

An interesting subject, but as the book progresses it becomes more commentary than history. The book could more aptly be titled 'Paul Johnson's Opinions about the History of the English People.' I still found it somewhat enjoyable, but it could have been much better.

Stirring and (sometimes) wrongheaded

Paul Johnson is at his iconoclastic best in this history - which is often more concerned with ideas than people. I almost always disagree with his conclusions, but I always enjoy how he gets there.

If you want an engaging discussion of how Parliament came to be the institution it is, this is your book. If you want a parade of kings and queens and prime ministers, this is definitely NOT your book: there are a few of the greats here, like Henry II, Elizabeth I, and William Pitt, but Johnson returns again and again to issues like Magna Carta and the greatness of the unwritten English constitution. (As an American, that remains incomprehensible to me - if it's not written down, how can it be a constitution?) You'll search in vain for an account of the Wars of the Roses or the desperate struggle against Napoleon.

Johnson as always has some surprising takes on people and events. He expresses great anger at the way the Irish have been treated over the centuries by the English; but he describes Oliver Cromwell, a cold and steely theocrat and one of the chief culprits in that treatment, as an affable, reasonable, and generally OK guy.

The anger is real, though, and that's one of the reasons I come back to Johnson when I disagree with him about so much. He genuinely hates slavery, hates racism, hates apartheid, hates totalitarianism. Reading his stirring condemnations of dark episodes in English history can be bracing.

Wanda McCaddon, who seems to have made a particular practice of narrating Johnson, gives her usual sterling performance here.

This Audiobook Needs Redoing!

First of all, it is my view that a book of this nature, written by a man particularly, should be read by a male artist. In addition to this, the recording is older, and the sound quality leaves a lot to be desired.

I do however appreciate Paul Johnson for taking the time to write this excellent book! It must be said nevertheless; it is written like all historical texts, in a revisionist manner - this is not a bad or good thing; it is simply in the nature of historical writings.

Incredible Book with Unfortunate Recording

Paul Johnson's writing is remarkable, with epic vistas and detailed profiles. His insight into the connections across England's history is profound and easily digestible.

My only problem is that this particular recording has several lacunae, particularly in the early chapters. The recording clearly skips, with no frame of reference for how much content may have been missed. This was especially frustrating during the important chapter on the English Reformation.