Rise And Fall Of The British Empire

(Paperback)

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This work covers the history of British expansion overseas from the 16th to the 20th centuries. Narrative and analysis are interwoven with revealing eyewitness quotations to provide keen insight into the minds of those involved in conquering, settling and ruling the British Empire. Throughout, there are consistent themes: the search for profit and the moral misgivings it generated; domestic developments which made imperial expansion desirable; and the sense of national and personal destiny felt by the empire-builders. This revised edition has been updated to include the 1997 hand-over of Hong Kong.

Reviews

'A masterpiece' A N Wilson '...with this superb history of a mammoth subject his writing career has reached its apogee.' Andrew Roberts, THE TIMES 'James never loses sight of his grand design, yet he still finds room for the telling detail which illuminates and enriches a narrative" Philip Ziegler, THE DAILY TELEGRAPH 'A stimulating book... intelligent and making no concessions to current cliche.' IRISH TIMES 'With dispassion and erudition James restores it to us mixing a pacy, lucid narrative with enlivening detail taken from political, cultural and populist sources.' EVENING STANDARD 'A pleasure to read.' SUNDAY TIMES 'The structure of the book [is] exemplary and the story unfold with magnificent force.' DAILY TELEGRAPH 'What James is bests at is providing a narrative sweep of history. He has a remarkable ability to encompass a huge range of factual material. His account of the lead-up to the First World War, its aftermath, and the complexity of the colonial response to the rise of Nazism is fascinating.' INDEPENDENT 'Lawrence James has written what I have long wanted: a readable, intelligent history of the British Empire in one volume.' SPECTATOR (BOOKS OF THE YEAR) 'A thumping good read.' SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY

Author Bio

Lawrence James was a founder member of York University and then took a research degree at Merton College, Oxford. After a distinguished teaching career he has emerged as one of the outstanding narrative historians of his generation.