The English: A Social History 1066-1945

It's terribly difficult for a single book to do justice to a subject as vast as English social history. Christopher Hibbert managed to very nearly pull it off with this wonderful effort. I have a few reservations, but these mostly reflect my own tastes and interests rather than the book itself. For example, I found the details of medieval banquets rather tedious, but the chapters on transport and industry immensely engaging. I guess you could say that there is something for everybody here, and as a reference book “The English” is par excellence. The only real fault I can find is that, approaching 1945, Hibbert starts to pile on the pace and gloss over the details. I can speculate as to why he might have done this, but it seems a shame that the period of the two world wars, with its dramatic effects on the social fabric of England, and all the wealth of material documentation available, might have been given a bit more space and depth. This alone prevents me from awarding the book 5 stars. I would allowed 4 and a half, but Goodreads does not furnish us with this facility.