Synopses & Reviews
A sweeping, brilliantly vivid history of the sudden end of the British Empire and the moment when America became a world superpowerpublished on the sixtieth anniversary of Britains withdrawal from Palestine.
I have not become the Kings First Minister in order to preside over the liquidation of the British Empire.” Winston Churchills famous statement in November 1942, just as the tide of the Second World War was beginning to turn, pugnaciously affirmed his loyalty to the worldwide institution that he had served for most of his life. Britain fought and sacrificed on a global scale to defeat Hitler and his alliesand won. Yet less than five years after Churchills defiant speech, the British Empire effectively ended with Indian independence in August 1947 and the end of the British Mandate in Palestine in May 1948. As the sun set on Britains empire, the age of America as world superpower dawned.
How did this rapid change of fortune come about? Peter Clarkes book is the first to analyze the abrupt transition from Rule Britannia to Pax Americana. His swift-paced narrative makes superb use of letters and diaries to provide vivid portraits of the figures around whom history pivoted: Churchill, Gandhi, Roosevelt, Stalin, Truman, and a host of lesser-known figures through whom Clarke brilliantly shows the human dimension of epochal events.
Clarke traces the intimate and conflicted nature of the special relationship,” showing how Roosevelt and his successors were determined that Britain must be sustained both during the war and after, but that the British Empire must not; and reveals how the tension between Allied war aims, suppressed while the fighting was going on, became rapidly apparent when it ended. The Last Thousand Days of the British Empire is a captivating work of popular history that shows how the events that followed the war reshaped the world as profoundly as the conflict itself.
Peter Clarke was professor of modern British history and master of Trinity Hall, Cambridge. He is the author of the final volume in the Penguin History of Britain; Hope and Glory: Britain 19002000. His other books include The Keynesian Revolution in the Making, 19241936.
"I have not become the King's First Minister in order to preside over the liquidation of the British Empire."
Winston Churchill's famous statement in November 1942, just as the tide of the Second World War was beginning to turn, pugnaciously affirmed his loyalty to the worldwide institution that he had served for most of his life. Britain fought and sacrificed on a global scale to defeat Hitler and his alliesand won.
Yet less than five years after Churchill's defiant speech, the British Empire effectively ended with Indian independence in August 1947 and the end of the British Mandate in Palestine in May 1948. As Britain's empire came to an end, the age of America as world superpower was just beginning.
How did this rapid change of fortune come about? Peter Clarke's book is the first to analyze the abrupt transition from Rule Britannia to Pax Americana. His swift-paced narrative makes use of letters and diaries to provide portraits of the figures around whom history pivoted: Churchill, Gandhi, Roosevelt, Stalin, Truman, and a host of lesser-known figures through whom Clarke shows the human dimension of epochal events.
Clarke traces the intimate and conflicted nature of the "special relationship" between the nations, showing how Roosevelt and his successors were determined that Britain must be sustained both during the war and after, but that the British Empire must not; and reveals how the tension between Allied war aims, suppressed while the fighting was going on, became rapidly apparent when it ended. The Last Thousand Days of the British Empire shows how the events that followed the second World War reshaped the world as profoundly as the conflict itself.
Sharp . . . Clarkes greatest strength is that he recounts in painful detail the numerous humiliations and embarrassments that came with being the junior partner in a wartime alliance. His description of Churchills correspondence with Roosevelt is almost moving in its pathos . . . [Clarke] is an engaging narrator and a skilled summarizer. His generally anti-imperialist analysis is also made more persuasive by a wistfulness about the empire that will be familiareven understandableto anyone who has read John Buchan or Ian Fleming or any of the brilliant Indian-born authors writing in English, from Anita Desai and her daughter Kiran to Vikram Seth.”Isaac Chotiner, New York Times Book Review
Most histories of this seismic shift in world affairs focus on personalitiesno surprise, given the outsize figures of the time: Churchill, Gandhi, Mountbatten, Truman, Weizmann, Ben-Gurion. But even the great are driven forward, in part, by forces larger than themselves. The supreme virtue of Peter Clarke's detailed account of Britain's last imperial days is his effort to describe those forces and register their effect. It is a complicated storyinvolving economic imperatives, political obstacles and social demandsbut Mr. Clarke makes it all clear and captivating.”Martin Rubin, The Wall Street Journal
One of the achievements of The Last Thousand Days of the British Empire, Peter Clarkes learned and elegant new character-driven history, is to remind us how sudden Britains fall from empire truly was . . . Indeed, among the greatest strengths of Mr. Clarkes book is its refreshingly clear-eyed approach to what in 1946 Churchill romantically called the special relationship.”Dominic Sandbrook, The Sun
Review
“[A] sharp new history…His description of Churchills correspondence with Roosevelt is almost moving in its pathos.”—
New York Times Book Review “Peter Clarkes learned and elegant new character-driven history [reminds] us how sudden Britains fall from empire truly was.”—New York Sun
Synopsis
A sweeping, brilliantly vivid history of the sudden end of the British Empire and the moment when America became a world superpower—published on the sixtieth anniversary of Britains withdrawal from Palestine.
“I have not become the Kings First Minister in order to preside over the liquidation of the British Empire.” Winston Churchills famous statement in November 1942, just as the tide of the Second World War was beginning to turn, pugnaciously affirmed his loyalty to the worldwide institution that he had served for most of his life. Britain fought and sacrificed on a global scale to defeat Hitler and his allies—and won. Yet less than five years after Churchills defiant speech, the British Empire effectively ended with Indian independence in August 1947 and the end of the British Mandate in Palestine in May 1948. As the sun set on Britains empire, the age of America as world superpower dawned.
How did this rapid change of fortune come about? Peter Clarkes book is the first to analyze the abrupt transition from Rule Britannia to Pax Americana. His swift-paced narrative makes superb use of letters and diaries to provide vivid portraits of the figures around whom history pivoted: Churchill, Gandhi, Roosevelt, Stalin, Truman, and a host of lesser-known figures through whom Clarke brilliantly shows the human dimension of epochal events.
Clarke traces the intimate and conflicted nature of the “special relationship,” showing how Roosevelt and his successors were determined that Britain must be sustained both during the war and after, but that the British Empire must not; and reveals how the tension between Allied war aims, suppressed while the fighting was going on, became rapidly apparent when it ended. The Last Thousand Days of the British Empire is a captivating work of popular history that shows how the events that followed the war reshaped the world as profoundly as the conflict itself.
Synopsis
A sweeping history of the sudden end of the British Empire and the moment when America became a world superpower, this work shows how the events that followed the war reshaped the world as profoundly as the conflict itself.
Synopsis
A sweeping, vivid history capturing the sudden end of Britains empire and the moment when America became a world superpower. Britain fought and sacrificed on a worldwide scale to defeat Hitler and his allies—and won. Yet less than three years after victory, the British Empire effectively ended, and the age of America as world superpower dawned. Peter Clarkes book is the first to analyze the abrupt transition from Rule Britannia to Pax Americana. His swiftly paced narrative offers vivid portraits of pivotal figures like Churchill, Gandhi, Truman, and Stalin. The Last Thousand Days of the British Empire shows how events that followed the war reshaped the world as much as the conflict itself.
About the Author
Peter Clarke was Professor of Modern History and Master of Trinity Hall at Cambridge. His many books include the acclaimed final volume of the Penguin History of Britain, Hope and Glory: Britain 1900-2000, and A Question of Leadership: Gladstone to Blair. He lives in Suffolk, England, and Pender Island, British Columbia.