Finished
Britain Begins by Barry Cunliffe - an interesting tour of British history from the Mesolithic to the Norman Invasion. It was particularly interesting for its argument that Celtic peoples originated in Spain and moved north along a long-established Atlantic Trading Route, which covers Western France, Wales, Ireland, the Isle of Man, and Western Scotland. However, this appears dependent on an assumption about mutation rates in genetics, suggesting that further genetics data could yet outright prove or disprove this idea.
One big caveat about the book, though, is that Cunliffe includes a lot of speculation as fact and includes no references in the text - for example, he mentions in passing that the Battle of Mons Grapius was fought near Inverness, when most others put it nearer Aberdeen, but doesn't explain why he makes that statement. He makes the curious claim that Britain effectively invented tin bronze-working around 2200BC, even though the Near East and Mediterranean were supposedly using it for the previous 1,000-1,500 years.
All in all, a very interesting overview of ancient Britain, but the lack of direct references is frustrating, as is the inclusion of personal speculation without clearly marking it as such.
In the meantime, picked up Michael Caine's autobiography
What's It All About for 99p today - opened it up, and am already engrossed.
