Old World, New World, By Kathleen Burk

Yorkshiremen were the first people on this island to be aware of North America. This epic account of Anglo-American relations suggests that Vikings in York probably heard about Leif Ericsson's discovery of Newfoundland in 1001. From colonial days onwards until the Iraq war, Burk's wide-ranging narrative reveals that the special relationship is not without its drawbacks. These were characterised in the observations of a US serviceman during the Second

World War: "American adolescents were expected to make a pass on the first date... In Britain, girls expected the man to show restraint." As Burk remarks in her concluding chapter, "There is a drawback to being best international friends ... a strong risk of being taken for granted."

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