Without pointless apologies normally peppering these topics, summary of the process of building and collapse of the British empire.

The collapse part was a bit rushed - I guess both in reality and in the book. ( )

If you're planning to study European colonialism, this book is a great place to start. The author studies the British colonial empire from a bird's-eye perspective and manages to integrate its heterogeneous parts into a very readable and informative account. He discusses settlement, trade, government, ideology and more, always following a clear thread of thought on each topic across the various colonies. It is a pleasure to read such a well-written and thoughtful work.

The author doesn't quite manage to maintain his verve through the final chapters of the book, which briefly discuss the first and second world wars and then the dissolution of the empire. He delves far too deeply into the views and actions of the last prime ministers who presided over the empire. A review of the political paths that various Commonwealth countries took to independence would have been a far more interesting topic for a general overview.

In any case, up to the end of the 19th century this book surely must be one of the best histories of Britain's colonial empire. Its history is a necessary starting point for understanding the national histories of any nation state that emerged to independence from that empire, so I would recommend this book as background material for studies in 20th century history.

Note to myself:

Speaking of his history of the British Empire and its demise, "...the long series of 'misjudgements' that we have traced...reveal something more interesting than the wisdom of hindsight. They suggest that predicting historical change is a hazardous business: there are too many factors at play and far too much noise to decode the correct signals. They remind us especially that empires rarely decline at a predictable speed and even more rarely along a predictable path."

I like his concept of a "series of misjudgements" that were widely deemed as accurate at the time, and the propensity for attempting to "predict historical change."

"It may be better to see the break-up of empires as a kind of unravelling, in which failure in one sector sets up intolerable strains in other parts of the system. Adjusting to these creates further unpredictable stresses, until the whole system breaks up or is absorbed piecemeal into a stronger successor." ( )

John Darwin tries to pull off the near-impossible here: write a thorough narrative history of the rise and fall of the British empire in a single volume. It's a dense book, but he pursues his goal ably, capturing above all the complexity, messiness, and unplanned (even unplannable) nature of much of Britain's imperial tenure.

Approaching things in thematic chapters, Darwin examines how colonies came to be, who brought them about, how they were managed and overseen (or not), the reasons for rebellion and how those were battled, and then eventually what brought about the eventual end of the global empire in the years following the end of the Second World War.

An admirably evenhanded and worthwhile treatment. ( )

I thought that this book might be fairly interesting to read: I was wrong! It is one of the best books that I have read all year.

Like many people. either born in Britain, or with an interest in British history, I had a passing knowledge of the main events affecting the UK from the 17th to 21st centuries: I knew about Suez, the World Wars, Trafalgar, the Battle of the Nile, Invasion of and expulsion from the United States and other incidents that have helped to shape this great country of ours. Where this book is so useful, is that it stitches these historical events into a single fabric.

John Darwin is above turning this story into a political diatribe, either in favour, or against the British Empire; rather, he shows how, through happen-stance, as often as shrewd political calculation, events conspired to allow the creation of an extraordinarily elastic empire. He also gives a plausible, although he is the first to admit, not necessarily a definitive explanation of its decline. So many authors, nowadays, make the fatal mistake of judging the past by the moral codes of today. Mr Darwin avoids this trap by the simple expediency of not judging at all. He merely relates the story, the reader is free to insert his/her own opinion on the rights and wrongs of the situation.

I find this type of history absolutely fascinating: after all, if one does not understand how we got to where we currently stand, how can we make valid decisions as to where we should be heading? I thought that I would enjoy it, I did not expect it to be quite so "unputdownable". Anyone with political aspirations, an interest in British and world history, or indeed anyone able to appreciate a darned well written book NEEDS to read this. Definitely high upon my top ten books of the year! ( )