Our close bond with Great Britain seems inevitable, given our shared language and heritage. But as distinguished historian Kathleen Burk shows in this groundbreaking history, recently published to acclaim in the United Kingdom, the close international relationship was forged only recently, preceded by several centuries of hostility and conflict that began soon after the first English colony was established on the newly discovered continent. Burk, a fourth-generation Californian and professor of history in London, draws on her unique knowledge of both countries to explore the totality of the relationship—the politics, economics, culture, and society—that both connected the two peoples and drove them apart. She tells the story from each side, beginning with the English exploration of the New World and taking us up to the present alliance in Iraq. At once sweeping in scope and intimate in detail, Old World, New World is a vivid, absorbing, and surprising story of one of the longest international love-hate relationships in modern history.
Kathleen Burk Book order (chronological)
Kathleen Mildred Burk is Professor Emerita of Modern and Contemporary History at University College London. Her expertise lies in the field of history, focusing on pivotal historical events and their ramifications. Her work contributes to a deeper understanding of societal development and international relations. Through her academic career, she has influenced generations of students and researchers in historical studies.


Troublemaker: the life and history of A.J.P. Taylor
- 512 pages
- 18 hours of reading
A.J.P. Taylor was arguably the most influential and popular British historian of the 20th century. This biography explores Taylor's activities as historian, Oxford don, broadcast journalist, husband and friend during a brilliant life punctuated by success, failure and frequent controversy.