I was bought a book called “An Utterly Impartial History of Britain (or 200 years of Upper Class Idiots in Charge)” by John O’Farrell. It’s some 587 pages long and worried me greatly. But, one night I gave it a go and found that it was one of the hardest books to put down.

It is a book filled with excellent information, particularly the history you were never taught, which makes it much more enjoyable to read. Thinking about it now, the concept that this might be an old school textbook in disguise was probably what made me so aprehensive, but it couldn’t be further from the truth. In addition to all the excellent information, which had something of a patriotic disdain for the country, if that’s possible, is a great wealth of fun. O’Farrell makes personal comments on his findings as he goes along, which is what made the book so interesting for me, as well as a little jokes rippling through to keep the duller histories lively.

The book, as is expressed in the title, revives the last two millenia of British history by bringing back the best and worst of each era. O’Farrell writes frankly with no fear of unveiling the controversial. He talks of what Britain went through and how it was shaped, including our ongoing relationship with the French and more modern relationship with the rest of Europe and, more recently of course, America. It is an excellent read and one I thoroughly recommend.

You can find the book on Amazon here: An Utterly Impartial History of Britain: (or 2000 Years of Upper Class Idiots in Charge)