Short but sweet

I was looking for something to read on my lunch up in the new book area of the library. I saw Great Tales for English History Vol.3. It was by Robert Lacey and I had enjoyed some of his biographies, so I plucked it from the shelf.

The book has an interesting format. Lacey chronicles in brief entries (most no more than 4 pages) various events and people from 1690 through 1953. Some people or events I had heard of like Florence Nightingale or Dunkirk. Others had never appeared on my radar before like the Tolpuddle Martyrs or the Sheffield Pals.

My only complaint is that his short entries were sometimes too short for their topic. You can also quibble with what is included or excluded. However the book is great fun to dip into. I also highly recommend his bibliography. He lists various web pages and books in a very conversational way. I have bookmarked a number of the sites on my computer.

Somehow my library has missed volumes 1 and 2, so I will have to get them on interlibrary loan.