Even by comparison to the United States, the United Kingdom has had a brief and fractious history. Its existence as an undivided entity lasted only for a disputatious 125 years, and its future remains precarious.In The Four Nations, Frank Welsh offers a lively narrative history of the four component parts of the British Isles-England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Moving from the Roman period, which first defined many of the current internal boundaries, through the present day, Welsh describes the history of each nation, their interactions, and the impacts of crises ranging from the Norman Invasion to the Protestant Reformation to the two world wars of the twentieth century. Along the way, Welsh questions many cherished illusions and poses some awkward questions: To what extent were Scotland, Ireland, and Wales victims of predatory English aggression? How serious is the frequently invoked specter of national fragmentation?Filled with illuminating vignettes and provocative insights, The Four Nations is an accessible and comprehensive introduction to the troubled histories of the British Isles.

Dive into the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra with this in-depth exploration of its animal inhabitants! Part of what everyone loves about the Four Nations is all the strange and wonderful (and sometimes scary!) creatures that inhabit them! From the Air Nomads' flying bison, to Kyoshi Island's elephant koi, to the Earth Kingdom's singing groundhogs and the little purple pentapus, look to this hardcover collection for images and information on Avatar and Korra's creatures large and small, including many from the spirit world!

The devolution of social care policy has led to key differences emerging between the UK’s four care systems. This book presents research on the perspectives of social care policy makers within the UK’s four care systems, concluding that when given equal capacity to reform, the systems in each nation may take radically different shapes.

Explores the central role of petitions in reshaping the political culture of the United Kingdom in their nineteenth-century heyday.