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Old World, New World: Great Britain and America from the Beginning | 
 enlarge | Author: Kathleen Burk
Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press
Category: Book
List Price: $35.00
Buy New: $17.50
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Avg. Customer Rating:  32 reviews
Sales Rank: 24661
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 848
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.6
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.4 x 2.2
ISBN: 0871139715
Dewey Decimal Number: 327.73041
EAN: 9780871139719
ASIN: 0871139715
Publication Date: October 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New. 100% money back guarantee. All books shipped from Strand Bookstore, New York City, USA.
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Product Description
Our close bond with Great Britain seems inevitable, given our shared language and heritage. But as distinguished historian Kathleen Burk shows in this groundbreaking history, recently published to acclaim in the United Kingdom, the close international relationship was forged only recently, preceded by several centuries of hostility and conflict that began soon after the first English colony was established on the newly discovered continent. Burk, a fourth-generation Californian and professor of history in London, draws on her unique knowledge of both countries to explore the totality of the relationship—the politics, economics, culture, and society—that both connected the two peoples and drove them apart. She tells the story from each side, beginning with the English exploration of the New World and taking us up to the present alliance in Iraq. At once sweeping in scope and intimate in detail, Old World, New World is a vivid, absorbing, and surprising story of one of the longest international love-hate relationships in modern history.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 27 more reviews...
 Engaging Study Of "The Special Relationship" November 3, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
There have been many histories of Great Britain and the United States, but relatively few which tell the story of the two nations' special relationship with each other. Kathleen Burk is well qualified to produce such a work, since she is an American who studied and now teaches in Britain.
Burk begins with the beginning, tracing the origins and progress of each of the thirteen English colonies which eventually became the United States. She provides a good, descriptive history of the events which led up to the Revolution and then of the conflict itself.
Burk's work becomes most valuable when she enters the post-Revolutionary period, when Britain and its former colonies had (and still have to a egree) an uneasy, sometimes friendly but sometimes hostile relationship. She provides good capsule biographies of statesmen and politicians on both sides and succinct but thorough summaries of diplomatic negotiations which sometimes led to conflict and sometimes led to lasting and peaceful settlements. There are also some engaging but too short chapters dealing with literary and other cultural exchanges between the nations.
During the twentieth century Britain and the US became more closely intertwined, and Burk does an excellent job tracing the evolving nature of their relationship through two World Wars, the Cold War, and the war on terror. Historians, politicians, and interested citizens on both sides of the Atlantic will find Old World, New World an essential reference for years to come.
"A Unique Relationship in History" October 25, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Kathleen Burk is Professor of Modern and Contemporary History at University College of London (UCL). She is a native Californian, yet writes with a knowledge and sophistication of one well versed in comings and goings on both sides of the pond. Her primary focus has been on Anglo-American relations (although with a little research, one can find her fingerprints on some other fascinating topics as well). She has written several books on the subject, but none as expansive as her new book, OLD WORLD, NEW WORLD. This fine book explores the singular relationship between mother country and the colonies over several hundred years. It is at once a scholarly work and an engaging exploration for anyone who seeks a better understanding at the relationship between these great nations.
Its scope transcends politics and diplomacy. In a deft blending of major issues, trends and developments, Professor Burk also explores the intricate similarities and differences in areas such as culture, education, literature and other areas both by the analysis of significant trends and personal vignettes. The interweaving of the macro and micro elements is seamless and quite satisfying.
The British and American people have had a unique love-hate relationship (fortunately mostly the former) over the centuries. OLD WORLD, NEW WORLD takes this complicated, yet thoroughly absorbing relationship and distills it down in a way that makes the reader wish for more than its nearly 800 pages (including endnotes and index). If there is any weakness to the book, it is in the lack of speculation or analysis of the future of the relationship. It is a minor desire, only because of the fine work that Burk has done in exploring the relationship up to the present time.
Professor Burk has written a major contribution to the understanding to the bonds of these uniquely connected, yet often separated peoples. OLD WORLD, NEW WORLD will be an invaluable and treasured addition to the library to anyone who seeks to better understand these two nations simultaneously bound and separated by more than just a common language.
 Thorough, but heavy and dry October 23, 2008
First, I will confess that I haven't yet finished the book. Normally I like to finish a book before writing a review, but I've only made it 300+ pages so far, and figure it will be a few months more before I finish it.
Secondly, I will confess that I have trouble remembering dates. As a result, some of the chapters about Lord So and So who in 1743 wrote a letter to Judge Poobah just wash through my brain, at least the details do. I am sure for people whose brains work differently, the flood of names and dates will be more appealing.
Having said that, and despite the book being much drier than I normally read (e.g. I find Orlando Figes' books to be much more engaging), I learn something from every page that I read, and I am never tempted to skim. There is a huge amount of depth in this book, and I've learned a great deal about the complexity of the relations between the two nations, motivating factors behind several wars and near wars, and the views of ordinary citizens in both nations about the ordinary citizens in the other.
This historical context of how our country has steadfastly originated and evolved is quite interesting, especially during the election cycle.
If you are looking for a book that will give you an emotional understanding of the lives of the people making history, this book is not for you. Likewise if you are looking for a fun vacation read.... nope. If you are looking for an extremely comprehensive book about the relationship of the British Empire and the US, or are looking to learn a lot more about history that is only skimmed in high school or survey courses, this is a very good book. Just be prepared to drink a little more coffee than usual.
Good Review of US and Great Britain Relations October 23, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I am really impressed that this writer does not take sides in a very provacative time in US/English relations. She is an American teaching in England, so, she does not have a chip on her shoulder about how the US was formed, neither does she take "America's side" in the discussion about this history.
It is a very fast read, I checked a friends hard cover copy that had the photos and they really added a lot to the disussion. Burke does an excellent broad brush through the times before during and after the revolution. Like diplomacy, there is a tangle of events and information that can be somewhat confusing and Burke clearly describes the environment and events. I am a little more than half way through and this is a very quick read for the size of the book.
On the ideas for improvement side, I wish she had a few more sentences or one or two more paragraphs about the Revolutionary War, individuals who fought in the Southern states, what happened after the battle of NY when thousands languished in prison ships and a just a tad about how Benedict Arnold went from hero to traitor. She mentions his early exploits helping to gain forts along the Hudson early after the beginning of the War. A little about why England decided to take Philadelphia and why they left would help too. Additionally, it would have been interesting to see how the German population in PA and NJ viewed the war.
It is nice to read how relations have improved over the centuries and how the US went from Colony to a super power. I would have liked this book in a US history class in Advanced Placement in HS or as a university text book. Great read for any one who loves history.
 Not For A Casual Reader October 23, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a good read if you can get past a VERY dry beginning. It's not for a casual reader who thought 'Oh, that may be interesting. I like history.' No this has good info but for me was like reading a textbook at the start for entertainment reading. Something I don't generally do.
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