Even by comparison to the United States, the United Kingdom has had a brief and fractious history. Its existence as an undivided entity lasted only for a disputatious 125 years, and its future remains precarious. In The Four Nations, Frank Welsh offers a lively narrative history of the four component parts of the British Isles--England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Moving from the Roman period, which first defined many of the current internal boundaries, through the present day, Welsh describes the history of each nation, their interactions, and the impacts of crises ranging from...
Even by comparison to the United States, the United Kingdom has had a brief and fractious history. Its existence as an undivided entity lasted only fo...