Contents
JANUARY 2011
FEATURES
22 Fighting the Vikings Ryan Lavelle reveals how the Anglo-Saxons battled the northern invaders in early medieval England
32 Robert Burns: people’s poet As Burns night approaches, Christopher Whatley explains why the poet appealed to different classes
36 The man who saved medieval knowledge James Carley introduces a witness to the great books destroyed in the Dissolution of the monasteries
42 The smash-and-grab gangster Alyson Brown tells the story of a colourful 20th-century criminal
45 Cold War copycats Chris Young explains how the west sought to emulate the communist bloc on the sporting field
50 Toilers of the deep Robb Robinson analyses a recently discovered cache of photographs of Edwardian fishermen
57 Ten terrible taxes With VAT about to increase, Martin Daunton recalls some of the most unpopular taxes of the past
4
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EVERY MONTH
6 Letters
8 Milestones: It happened in January
News 12 Breaking news 17 News from the journals 18 World news in context: The Saami
35 Opinion by Dominic Sandbrook
49 Changing times by Chris Bowlby
63 Book reviews 12 new history books reviewed
75 TV&Radio What’s on in January
Out&About 80 Where history happened:
Britain’s prehistoric stone circles 86 Ten things to do this month 88 Holiday ideas
Miscellany 93 Q&A: Your historical questions answered 96 Prize crossword: Win one of three 4D jigsaw puzzles worth £29.99 97 Puzzles
98 My history hero by a BBC History Magazine reader
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USPS Identification Statement BBC HISTORY (ISSN 1469-8552) (USPS 024-177) January 2011 is published 13 times a year by Bristol Magazines Ltd., 9th Floor, Tower House, Fairfax Street, Bristol BS1 3BN, UK. Distributed in the US by Evergreen Marketing, 116 Ram Cat Alley, Suite 201, Seneca, SC 29678-3263. Periodicals postage paid at Seneca, SC and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to BBC HISTORY, PO Box 421133, Palm Coast, FL 32142-1133.
BBC History Magazine
