|
|
|
|
||
|
HELP | |
|
This item may be
Check for Availabilityout of stock. Click on the button below to search for this title in other formats.  This title in other formats:Empire: The Rise and Demise of the British World Order and the Lessons for Global Power
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:The British Empire was the largest in all history, its reach the nearest thing to world domination ever achieved. By the eve of the Second World War, over a fifth of the world's land surface and nearly a quarter of the world's population were under some form of British rule. Yet for today's generation, the British Empire has come to stand for nothing more than a lost Victorian past — one so remote that it has ceased even to be a target for satire. The time is ripe for a reappraisal.
In this major new work of synthesis and revision, Niall Ferguson argues that the British Empire should be regarded not merely as vanished Victoriana but as the very cradle of modernity. Nearly all the key features of the twenty-first-century world can be traced back to the extraordinary expansion of Britain's economy, population, and culture from the seventeenth century until the mid-twentieth — economic globalization, the communications revolution, the racial make-up of North America, the notion of humanitarianism, the nature of democracy. Displaying the originality and rigor that have made him the brightest light among British historians, Ferguson shows that far from being a subject for nostalgia, the story of the Empire is pregnant with lessons for the world today — in particular for the United States as it stands on the brink of a new kind of imperial power based once again on economic and military supremacy. Book News Annotation:Ferguson (financial history, New York U.) coins the word
"Anglobalization" to describe the impact of the British Empire on its
former colonies. While not completely dismissing the widely
recognized "debit" column of Empire, he argues that the "credit" side
has been unfairly denigrated, including the introduction of
capitalism, the notion of limited government, and the ideal of
freedom. His narrative is not one of unmitigated triumphalism
however, for he implicitly cautions against the overextension of
Empire, which in Britain's case was driven by "the truly global bond
market, the military-industrial complex and the mass media."
Annotation (c)2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Review:"The buzz on Empire was that it aspired to similar chart-topping iconoclasm; thankfully, though, it falls short. The author is nowhere near as heretical as he has been in the past. Much of Empire is solid historical writing, extensively researched and analytical. Ferguson loves numbers, and he often proves a point in a haze of percentages, so let's do that with this book: Of Empire's 389 pages, only about 30 of them ? the introduction and the conclusion ? deal directly with the question that Ferguson says he wrote the book to answer: 'Was the British Empire a good or bad thing?'" Farhad Manjoo, Salon.com (read the entire Salon review) Review:"Acclaimed British historian Ferguson takes the revisionist (or perhaps re-revisionist) position that the British Empire was, on balance, a good thing....His provocative and elegantly written account will surely trigger debate, if not downright vilification, among history readers and postcolonial scholars." Publishers Weekly Review:"Though Empire is scrupulous scholarship, it is also a rattling good tale." Wall Street Journal Review:"Brilliantly challenges the simplistic focus on racism, violence and exploitation...A concise and lucid exposition...Popular history at its best." Washington Post
Review:"Fluently written, engaging, beautifully designed and spectacularly illustrated...Empire is a model of how to do popular history." The Economist
Synopsis:Includes bibliographical references (p. [377]-383) and index. About the Author Niall Ferguson is Fellow and Tutor in Modern History at Jesus College, Oxford. He is the author of Paper and Iron, The House of Rothschilds, and The Pity of War ). He writes regularly for the Times Literary Supplement, and lives in Oxford. Table of ContentsWhy Britain — White plague — The mission — Heaven's breed — Maxim force — Empire for sale.
What Our Readers Are SayingBe the first to add a comment for a chance to win!Product Details
Other books you might like
| |||
|
| ||||
|
||||
Don't Miss
