British history is about far more than kings and queens, and here Oliver Rackham provides a wide-ranging survey of the land itself, uncovering the ways that mankind and natural factors have shaped this island nation. In this thorough yet conversational text, Rackham discusses the rare and extinct animals of the region (wolves, aurochs, cranes), explains the structure of Roman and medieval roads, and charts the distribution of forests in Anglo-Saxon times, while unraveling the changing concept of land ownership over the centuries. Illustrated with maps and photos throughout, Rackham's 1986 book is an accessible crash-course in linguistics, geology, botany, and anthropology.