Listeners to The Archers regularly overhear counterfeit chatter about bygone days. Tracing the History of Villages offers the real thing. In less than 200 pages, it provides a broad history of English rural settlements from Ice Age hunter-gatherers to Volvo-driving contemporaries. Tracing the History of Villages (pound;9.95) is written by Trevor Yorke and published by Countryside Books, Highfield House, 2 Highfield Avenue, Newbury, Berkshire RG14 5DS. Tel: 01635 43816; fax: 01635 551004; email: info@countrysidebooks.co.uk; website: www.countrysidebooks.co.uk