Accessible History (BBC History Magazine)

Name: mcrouch

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Product:	BBC History Magazine
Date:	15/06/01 (263 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good value for money, every issue is packed, easy accessible features

Disadvantages: sometimes over emphasises tv tie-ins

I had already asked for a BBC History category before I realised one already existed under Science and Academia. Rather than cheat and repeat the opinion I eventually put there, I'll give a more detailed flavour of the current issue here.

The July 2001 issue of BBC History once again stands out on the newsagents shelf with a dramatic photo of the rebel Pharoah Akhenaten (I should point out it's a statue and not actually Akhanaten). This accompanies the issues' main feature which attempts to redress the wrongs done to him by history. His own people tried to wipe him from their history, erasing him from their records. He had been forgotten about until the discovery of his runied city at Amarna. Here he had attempted to throw the long established order of Egypt and replace it with a new order, changing the gods that Egypt worshipped and so on. Heresy in the eyes of his people. The feature is accompanied by the usual array of maps and photographs and a timeline. In case the reader should want to learn more, all BBC History articles are followed a list of further resources including tv, video, books and web sites.

The magazine frequently focusses on aspects of history from the female point-of-view and this edition carries an article about Britain's Iron Age warrior women including, of course, Boudicca.

New light is shed on our knowledge of Florence Nightingale, here portrayed as a deep and ambitious woman whose strength of character and probable obstinance saw her reshape the way hospitals and army medical treatment was organised. The article also features a contentious proposal that she did in fact not run a hospital but a death camp, such was the level of disease amongst her patients. While television sometimes skirts around such issues, this magazine does at least offer both sides of the story and leaves you to decide for yourself.

Other features include Britain part in successfully getting General Franco i
nto power during the Spanish Civil War, Scotland's struggle for independence, and during Wimbledon month, a story about the female players who fought back against sexist dress codes in their sport.

There are far too many features to list here but hopefully this has given you a flavour of the kind of contents you will find in each issue of what I find to be a compelling magazine. I quite happily read every issue from cover to cover and am left hanging on for the next issue. If you have read it before, you'll already be familiar with the quality and content. If you've only ever thought about it, try this issue. I don't think anyone with a passing interest in history will be disappointed and some of the back-up articles could be of value to students of all ages.

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