Reviews and Forum

Gratifying reviews have already been posted on Amazon and The Endless Bookcase sites with some of the latter being reproduced here. Feel free to add your own comments.

If you would like to discuss or even dispute some of what I have written then please feel free to send your thoughts here and we will where possible not only add them but possibly enter into an online discussion and debate. I know that many people have strong opinions on the various subjects covered. The more we find out the wider our potential audience and involvement in the dancing that we love.

“This book is a must for anyone who loves dance, it’s a fascinating and insightful journey through the history of dance , filled with beautiful illustrations. It would make a great gift.

It’s a generous hard back and definitely something to treasure.

I’m delighted with it.” – Sharon

“This really is a beautifully set-out and illustrated book. It was a joy to read for its historical content as much as the well researched information on country dancing through the centuries. I was recommended the book and it surpassed my expectations.

An ideal gift for anyone interested in dance and history with excellent colour plates to illustrate.” – Lynn

"Sub-titled 'The Story of English Country Dance', Mike Ruff’s book aims to re-establish country dancing’s place in English history’s consciousness. Over many centuries but, formally, for some 600 years, this form of dancing has found fans and exponents in all levels of English society – from village greens and community halls to Royal Courts. Tracing the history of this dance form over those six centuries, the book places the dances into their historical as well as their sartorial contexts.

Unsurprisingly, this means including many illustrations – of dances and contemporary costumes – which, on one level, ably qualifies the book as a “coffee table book”. However, to classify it as a “mere” coffee table book would be to do it an injustice, since the book includes step-by-step instructions for 18 traditional dances, providing a hands-on introduction to styles that are still danced today[...]

Visually appealing and impressively produced by The Endless Bookcase, this book contains much of Mike Ruff’s many years of expertise as a dancer, musician and teacher of English Country Dancing. This makes it a most attractive and authoritative contribution to the history, context and execution of this dance form. It will also grace any coffee table – but it’s so much more than that." - Bob Little