Little Britian: How One Small Country Built the Modern World

By Harry Bingham

Published Jan 2010

Britain is a small country that’s done big things.

Who invented all forms of transport except the car and the pogo stick? Whose books are the most translated in the world? Who really enforced the Monroe Doctrine? Who has won more Nobel prizes per capita than anyone else? Who made sure the rule of law became the gold-standard for civilization?

The answer to all these questions is, well, us.

We may not have the weather we want, we may not be able to punctuate our own (world-conquering) language, and we many not win at the sports we invented, but if the modern world is richer, freer, more peaceful, more democratic and healthier than it was, then the modern world has Britain to thank.

Little Britain is an entertaining, argumentative romp through the history of our small island, full of surprising facts (Britain has been successfully invaded 10 times since 1066), forgotten heroes (William Gilbert, anyone?), and the answers to questions that you always wanted to know but were too embarrassed to ask, such as: Why was Magna Carta important, really?