I requested this book because I knew I was going to sail past Mann this summer and was curious about it. This is a slim volume about a small isle, but it packs a lot of history. I'm very grateful I requested it.

Part history book and part travel guide, this is a good introduction to the Isle of Man and its importance throughout history. It's easy to read and light. Perfect for those looking for an accessible summary of the place.

A really good overview of the history of the isle of man in Britain. Full of information and facts you feel like you have been there when you finish the book.

Having family on the Isle of Man made this an insightful read and one I’ll come back to when I visit. Perfect for those with an interest in the island or history of GB in general.

I’ve just finished reading this excellent guide to the Isle of Man by Matthew Richardson, published by Pen & Sword. Richardson is a social historian and curator at the Manx Museum on the Isle of Man. Although he’s written several books, this is the first one I’ve had the opportunity to review. I’ve travelled to the island many times over the last twenty years and I love it. It’s got lots of history and, apart from TT fortnight, is uncrowded and very easy to get around. It’s a brilliant place for a long weekend, being far less than an hour’s flight from Liverpool or Manchester and not much more than that from London City or Gatwick.

The book is sub-titled “Stone Age to the Swinging Sixties” and the first two thirds of the book cover that history in chronological order. I expected it to be fairly dry and was very pleasantly surprised at how readable the book is. Although the history is covered fairly briskly, lots of interesting facts are tossed in. Did you know that Manx women were allowed to vote from 1881 onwards? It took the UK until 1918 to grant the same privilege.

We’re all aware of the “pits” used during Formula One races but how many people know these were originally the hollows at the side of the road on the IOM TT course?

The wonderful Amadeus Quartet was originally formed by internees on the IOM during WWII.

You think “anorak” was a term derived from trainspotting nerds? Wrong. It was used as a disparaging term for sightseers who came to look at Radio Caroline when it was moored in the Irish Sea in the 1960s.

The organ in St George’s Church, Douglas, was acquired from the Dublin Assembly Hall. It’s the organ upon which Handel conducted the first performance of the Messiah.

The last third of the book comprises four tour routes: a walking tour of Douglas and then three car routes from Douglas to Ramsey, Peel and Castletown. The next time I’m over on the island, I’ll persuade a friendly driver to take me the tours – and I’ll be taking this book with me, for sure.

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The Isle of Man has always been a place that I want to visit so I was really keen to find out more about the history and the places to visit.

I found the book to be really informative and I really enjoyed it. I did like the images that were used in the book, but my only suggestion would be that there was a few more added as some of the chapters have quite a lot of text.

I enjoyed the way that the book was set out and the facts and detail added. The author has added in details of the sites (where possible) and the addresses/contact numbers so you can make your own arrangements. There are also four tours you can do in the book, one on foot and three by car to explore some of the different areas. There is a strong focus on the TT as you would expect and it was fun to go round the circuit with the author.

It is 4.5 stars from me for this book, rounded up to 5 stars for Goodreads and Amazon – thoroughly enjoyable and it will be a great reference guide to locals who are new to the locations, as well as those visiting the area!

A brief introduction and good movement of information to tell the history of this place. There are three tour routes one can follow, but there is no map of any type it is all directions.

Very much a history book with the tourist in mind, this really hits the spot. Starting with prehistory, we see the Isle of Man's growth right up until the 1960s, in a natural chronological order, but in a manner that always nods us towards where we can go and see the places and remains mentioned, and at the perfect level of detail for the interested traveller. So this is neither one of the bitty, narrative-free guide books, nor is it a story of past times that fails to nudge us out of our armchair and get us to see the things mentioned. I could see many of the places I'd explored myself, from the Laxey Wheel to Cregneash, on these pages. We do also get routine travel writing, however – we've already had a virtual lap of the whole TT circuit across the island, but we close with extensive description of a walk round Douglas, and a few well-done day drives for the car hirer or ferry-user taking their own vehicle across. You might think them flawed for not getting us up the mountains at all, but we'll have already covered the railway networks necessary before then. A sterling success.

I have mixed feelings about this book as it does some things well but is lacking in others. As with all books by Matthew Richardson this book is well written and researched, easy to read and accessible. Given the space constraints the author gives a broad overview of each period on the Island and highlights the key type sites for further exploration. Where this book is very good is in the tours of the north, south, east and west of the Island each based on one of the larger centres of population.
Where this book falls down is partially in its brevity, presumably the publisher is trying to keep the price of each volume within a certain limit, a major omission and this may be due to it only being a proof copy was the absence of any maps to show locations referred to. Again whether it is down to the online proof seen there are no colour photographs giving the whole a drab feel especially the Manx Electric Railway poster, despite being such a familiar image would be better rendered in colour. There is so much literature already produced about the Isle of Man, this book adds little to that growing library as I think Sara Goodwin's Brief History of the Isle of Man is better produced.
Overall this book is well written but I feel poor production values let it down.

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