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Rating: 
Summary: So you say you want a revolution?
Review: After Edward Gibbon there is no historian in the English language who can hold a candle to Macaulay. His prose is so luminous it practically glows in the dark. This abridgment focusing upon the "Glorious Revolution" of 1688 sums up Macaulay's assesment of its events and meaning. Not a revolution for aristocrats only, but a revolution that increased and secured the liberties of all English people. Essential reading for all lovers of history.
Rating:
Summary: So you say you want a revolution?
Review: After Edward Gibbon there is no historian in the English language who can hold a candle to Macaulay. His prose is so luminous it practically glows in the dark. This abridgment focusing upon the "Glorious Revolution" of 1688 sums up Macaulay's assesment of its events and meaning. Not a revolution for aristocrats only, but a revolution that increased and secured the liberties of all English people. Essential reading for all lovers of history.
Rating:
Summary: Beautifully written, compelling history
Review: My comment is brief: Thomas Babington Macaulay wrote with such brilliant clarity, such a command of facts, and such a deep understanding of society that even this abridged version of his magnum opus reads like a great novel. Macaulay's History of England is timeless.
Rating: 
Summary: A Great book in an unfortunate edition
Review: This book is a 500-odd page abridgement of Macaulay's magisterial History of England. T.B. Macaulay is one of the supreme victorian stylist, if not unquestionably the greatest. He is also one of the forefathers of modern liberalism. The prose is brilliant, and Macaulay has bettered his master, Scott, in his renderings of a bygone era. That much being said, we deplore the need to abridge this masterpiece. Five volumes might sound daunting, but Macaulay is entertaining enough to sustain our interest throughout the length of the book. The abridgements are so extensive that the introduction is reduced to 3 pages, and the recreation of the reign of King Charles II is entirely lost. Buy this book by all means, but if you can find the full version, give that a try. A wonderful companion to this book is Hume's History of England.
Rating:
Summary: A Generous Slice of English History
Review: This Penguin Classics edition, while greatly abridged down from the original five volumes to one, offers a generous slice of Macaulay's classic history of England from 1685 to 1699.Editor Trevor-Roper has chosen to highlight the most important sections that illuminate the struggle between James II and William of Orange, between Catholic and Protestant, a struggle that continues to this day. Trevor-Roper introduces each chapter with explanatory notes that give the selections some continuity of narrative.As a bonus, you'll find a quick sketch of Lord Macaulay in the introduction.Overall, this book is the best way to understand Macaulay's unique view of history, without having to wade through his somewhat monotonous five volumes.
Rating:
Summary: A Great book in an unfortunate edition
Review: This was my first taste of Macaulay and I'm an aficianado! I was exhilirated by the accounts of English unanimity and activism in the face of a royal tyrant. I was refreshed by a volume of history that, for its honesty, scholarship and its spirit of freedom, was so unlike the many insipid, politically-correct, and poorly-argued texts of modern historians. I was inspired to read of an actual case of widespread resistance to arbitrary government which succeeded by its sheer tenacity employing, however, moderate and unfanatical means. I was enlightened by a view of the Highlander culture and Scottish scene generally(in the 70-odd pages of chapter 16) that had a very realistic feel to it and was a great antidote to the more fantastic intimations of the popular Mel Gibson movie regarding an earlier era in Scottish history. The descriptions of battles are detailed, interesting, and a needed reality check for those who have not experienced warfare and think of it as a big video game.Although there was an unpleasant aspect of the book for me(Macaulay's views of Penn) that didn't quite ring true, this book is one of the truly classic histories of all time!
Rating:
Summary: Inspiration and Reality
Review: This was my first taste of Macaulay and I'm an aficianado! I was exhilirated by the accounts of English unanimity and activism in the face of a royal tyrant. I was refreshed by a volume of history that, for its honesty, scholarship and its spirit of freedom, was so unlike the many insipid, politically-correct, and poorly-argued texts of modern historians. I was inspired to read of an actual case of widespread resistance to arbitrary government which succeeded by its sheer tenacity employing, however, moderate and unfanatical means. I was enlightened by a view of the Highlander culture and Scottish scene generally(in the 70-odd pages of chapter 16) that had a very realistic feel to it and was a great antidote to the more fantastic intimations of the popular Mel Gibson movie regarding an earlier era in Scottish history. The descriptions of battles are detailed, interesting, and a needed reality check for those who have not experienced warfare and think of it as a big video game. Although there was an unpleasant aspect of the book for me(Macaulay's views of Penn) that didn't quite ring true, this book is one of the truly classic histories of all time!
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