Highlighting the region's geographical identity over any political definition, The Isles explores the history of Britain and Ireland from the Stone Age to the early decades of the eighteenth century. The Isles explores themes of mobility, empire, climate change, disease, linguistic diversity, religion, and the nature of political power and resistance as they have shaped the history of Britain and Ireland.
A book of great scope and ambition, The Isles is also a judicious and nuanced one: it takes seriously the mutually constitutive aspects of the long, entangled history of the peoples of Britain and Ireland while not losing sight of points of difference and conflict. The environment, too, is an active player in Bellany's telling, and he is equally comfortable explicating climate data as he is a government proclamation or popular ballad. Innovatively conceived, elegantly written, and welcoming to a broad range of readers, The Isles is a tremendous achievement." - Brendan Kane, University of Connecticut
