{"schema_version":"bf_book_companion_v1","release_id":"20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset","book":{"amazon_purchase_url":"https://www.amazon.com/dp/1615198148?tag=bookfrontier-20","asin":"1615198148","authors":["James Hawes"],"book_id":"9781615198146","canonical_url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781615198146","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781615198146.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","description":"England—begetter of parliaments and globe-spanning empires, star of beloved period dramas, and home of the House of Windsor—is not quite the stalwart island fortress that many of us imagine. Riven by an ancient fault line that predates even the Romans, its fate has ever been bound up with that of its neighbors; and for the past millennia, it has harbored a class system like nowhere else on Earth. This bracing tour of the most powerful country in the United Kingdom reveals an England repeatedly invaded and constantly reinvented—yet always fractured by its very own Mason-Dixon Line. It carries us swiftly through centuries of conflict between Crown and Parliament (starring the Magna Carta), America’s War of Independence, the rise and fall of empire, two World Wars, and England’s break from the EU. We discover: - why the American colonists of 1776 believed that they were the true Anglo-Saxons - how the British Empire was undermined from within - why Winston Churchill said the UK could only be saved by splitting up England itself - and how populism spawned Brexit and its “new elite.” The Shortest History of England brings all this and more to prescient life—offering the most direct, compelling route to understanding the country behind today’s headlines. The Shortest History books deliver thousands of years of history in one riveting, fast-paced read.","forthcoming":false,"isbn13":"9781615198146","publication_date":"20220315","publisher":"The Experiment","slug":"the-shortest-history-of-england","subtitle":"Empire and Division From the Anglo-saxons to Brexit—a Retelling for Our Times","title":"The Shortest History of England"},"discovery":{"categories":{"all":[{"bisac_code":"HIS010000","confidence_band":"high","label":"European History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"HIS015000","confidence_band":"high","label":"British History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"POL058000","confidence_band":"high","label":"European Politics","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}],"hint":[],"publisher":[{"bisac_code":"HIS010000","confidence_band":"high","label":"European History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"HIS015000","confidence_band":"high","label":"British History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"POL058000","confidence_band":"high","label":"European Politics","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}]},"genres":[{"label":"European History","score":1,"slug":"european-history"},{"label":"British History","score":1,"slug":"british-history"},{"label":"European Politics","score":1,"slug":"european-politics"}],"reader_fit":["Good for readers who enjoy European History","Good for readers interested in british","Good for fans of History"],"related_lists":[],"series":null,"similar_books":[{"authors":["Shashi Tharoor","Tantor Audio"],"book_id":"9781947534308","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781947534308.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","score":14.3309,"title":"Inglorious Empire","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781947534308"},{"authors":["Simon Vance","Anthony Brandt","Random House Audio","& 0 more"],"book_id":"9780307276568","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780307276568.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","score":10.6948,"title":"The Man Who Ate His Boots","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780307276568"},{"authors":["Roy Porter"],"book_id":"9780140138191","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780140138191.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","score":10.3886,"title":"English Society in the 18th Century","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780140138191"},{"authors":["Catherine Bailey"],"book_id":"9780143124733","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780143124733.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","score":10.3381,"title":"The Secret Rooms","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780143124733"},{"authors":["Peter Ackroyd"],"book_id":"9781250812162","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781250812162.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","score":10.3148,"title":"Dominion","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781250812162"},{"authors":["Neil MacGregor"],"book_id":"9780670022700","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780670022700.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","score":10.0017,"title":"A History of the World in 100 Objects","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780670022700"},{"authors":["Geoffrey of Monmouth","Lewis Thorpe"],"book_id":"9780140441703","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780140441703.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","score":9.9569,"title":"The History of the Kings of Britain","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780140441703"},{"authors":["Stephen Greenblatt"],"book_id":"9780393882278","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780393882278.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","score":9.79,"title":"Dark Renaissance","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780393882278"}],"topics":[{"evidence_refs":["keyword:history"],"label":"History","score":0.9238,"slug":"history"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:world war ii"],"label":"World","score":0.2022,"slug":"world"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:short"],"label":"Short","score":0.1263,"slug":"short"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:travel"],"label":"Travel","score":0.0972,"slug":"travel"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:british"],"label":"British","score":0.0475,"slug":"british"}],"what_you_get":["Themes: History, Short, Travel.","Reading lane: European History and British History.","Publisher: The Experiment."]},"llm_signals":null,"source_presence":{"amazon":true,"book_detail":true,"goodreads":true,"llm_signals":false,"similarity_seed":true},"stats":{"amazon_ratings_count":0,"goodreads_ratings_count":3138,"goodreads_reviews_count":314,"quality_score":0.9274}}