I've just received the first magazine of my subscription to the BBC History Magazine and it's the best (late) birthday present I've ever had. I'm a month behind but let me give you a taste of what I got:
The Black Death - How this terrible disease shaped medieval society.
Walter Ralegh - The Heroic Traitor
Gallipoli - What went wrong/
At the Edge of Reason - Shaving and razors in 18th century Britain
As well as in-depth, well written articles, there are small snippets all over the place which are fascinating and entertaining. For example:
What Ailed Henry? - According to new research, Henry VIII might have been positive for the Kell blood group, whereby children in utero have a high chance of being attacked by the mother's antibodies. This would explain the large number of miscarriages and infant deaths his wives experienced.
There are tons of book reviews, and a heads up about upcoming TV and Radio programmes of a historical nature. The Out & About section takes you to real places in the UK and tells the stories. The February issue features 9 places which were of particular note during the Black Death.
All this and free podcasts too!
There's a special offer at the moment so for less than twenty quid or around $45 for 6 issues it makes a great gift for yourself or someone else.
It's certainly one excellent magazine... and that's not a bad price either. If you aren't being sponsored, I think you ought to be!
ReplyDeleteAlways enjoyed the magazine since I was a teen, my older brother always regularly bought it. It makes for great toilet reading.
ReplyDeleteHave to write that the podcast is disappointing. The presenting is cringe-worthy bad and the audio quality is so awful that I find it difficult to listen. I don't know if they have an old version of skype from 10 years ago, but of all the podcasts my iTunes downloads, it's by far the worse audio-wise and that includes some very lo-fi podcasts.
I LOVE BBC History Magazine and try to pick up a copy each month at Borders. Unfortunately they get it a month late so the podcasts aren't in synch with the magazine-recommended podcasts, but still the magazine is great!
ReplyDeleteI just ordered British Heritage and Realm magazines. I need to add this to my list. I'm sure I will enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteAwindram - oh, too bad about the podcasts but thanks for the heads up.
ReplyDeleteMelissa - actually, they do an even better one IMO, which I might order too. It's the BBC Knowledge Magazine, which covers everything.