No man is an island, wrote John Donne. BBC Home Editor Mark Easton argues the opposite: that we are all islands, and it is upon the contradictory shoreline where isolation meets connectedness, where 'us' meets 'them', that we find out who we truly are. Suggesting that a continental bias has blinded us, Easton chronicles a sweep of 250 million years of island history: from Pangaea (the supercontinent mother of all islands) to the first intrepid islanders pointing their canoes over the horizon, from exploration to occupation, exploitation to liberation, a hopeful journey to paradise and a chastening reminder of our planet's fragility. But that is only half of this mesmerising book: aided by the muse he names Pangaea, Easton also interweaves reflections on what he calls 'the psychological islands that form the great archipelago of humankind'. Taking readers on an enchanting adventure, he illustrates how understanding islands and island syndrome might help humanity get closer to the truth about itself. Brave, intelligent and haunting, Islands is a deep dive into geography, myth, literature, politics and philosophy that reveals nothing less than a map of the human heart.

Mark Easton's Britain Etc.looks at the UK through its relationship to 26 subjects - one for each letter of the alphabet. From Alcohol, Beat Bobbies, Cheese and Dogs through Immigration, Justice, Knives and Murder to the Queen, Umbrellas, Vegetables and the Zzzz of a well-deserved rest, the book's meticulously researched but accessible essays map the back-story of contemporary Britain. With each lettered chapter, the reader is invited to look at the United Kingdom in a new way: standing back to see our small islands in a global or historical context, and then diving down to scrutinise vital details that may be overlooked. Taken together, the essays reveal a Britain that cannot be seen through the prism of daily news or current affairs. A park, a wedding, a beggar and a carrot all take on new significance once you have read Britain Etc. Having been in the centre of world's consciousness as the UK welcomed millions of visitors to its shores for the Olympics and the Diamond Jubilee celebrations, this is a book that offers insight into the psyche of Britain; a nation's obsessions, prejudices, values and idiosyncrasies. What sort of place is it, what are the natives like, and how did we get to where we are?

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