Isle of Man : Portrait of a Nation

Contending that the Isle of Man is best known as a holiday destination and an international financial center for banking and commerce, this guide sheds light on the island's status as an internally self-governing dependency of the British Crown and its long quest for national self-determination from the time of the enforced sale of the island to the British Crown in 1765. The island’s evolution is documented, from its geological birth pangs in the prehistoric Cambrian Period to the Viking raids and settlements of the eighth to thirteenth centuries. Highlighting the origins of the island's unique system of parliamentary government as well as the political, social, and commercial developments of the modern era, the study also conducts a tour of the island's superb coastal and upland landscapes, historic towns, villages, and parishes.

John Grimson is the author of The Channel Coasts of England, The North Sea Coasts of England, and Portrait of the Isle of Man.