The heroes and villains, triumphs and disasters of English history are instantly familiarOCo-from the Norman Conquest to Henry VIII, Queen Victoria to the two world wars. But to understand their full sig nificance we need to know the whole story. a "A Short History of England "sheds new light on all the key individuals and events in English histo ry by bringing them together in an enlightening account of the countryOCOs birth, rise to global promi nence, and then partial eclipse. Written with flair and authority by "Guardian" columnist and "London" "Times "former editor Simon Jenkins, this is the definitive narrative of how todayOCOs England came to be. Concise but comprehensive, with more than a hundred color illustrations, this beautiful single-volume history will be the standard work for years to come. a