Well, Volume 3 of this excellent series of non-fiction books has just been released and I grabbed it hot off the bookshelf.

There's no other way to say it: this trilogy of history books is perhaps the best, most concise, most accessible work of non-fiction I have read in recent years. If you're after great short snapshots of English history, look no further than these awesome books.

Lacey's main focus is to tell you the 'real' story behind well-known (and sometimes less well-known) English myths and historical events. In the early volumes, we read about Robin Hood and King Canute (a fellow who was actually very intelligent and humble but who has gone down in history as a smug idiot), while in the splendid, just-released third volume, we get all the way up to the 20th century and some explanations for events in World War I and II, the discovery of DNA, and really interesting stuff about things as varied as the abdication of King Edward VIII and the Duke of Wellington's married life.

If you want to go on a marvelous historical journey and just enjoy a great, great read, go and grab Great Tales of English History. You won't be disappointed.