The Decline And Fall Of The British Empire
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Review
'This is an immense book...It's the telling, often hilarious detail that propels the vast narrative'.
--Independent
'he has not only followed major contours but has also skilfully filled in the crevices, often with wry humour' --History Today
--Independent
'he has not only followed major contours but has also skilfully filled in the crevices, often with wry humour' --History Today
Literary Review
'Quite simply, a masterpiece of historical narrative'
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I bought this book to give me some background reading for my A-level History coursework on the British Empire and its demise. To this end, this book is fantastic: it provided me with a clear and detailed overview of the British Empire, and also placed all of the main events into context with one another, which school teaching often can fail to put across.
The style is engaging, witty and informative, and very readable; by dryly stating facts and quoting people involved, many of the more absurd aspects of the empire are put across humourously. Everything is clearly written and explained, so for those with a less-than-impressive imperial knowledge (myself included), 'Decline and Fall' is an excellent starting point.
However, it dwells too heavily upon the foolishness of those running the empire, reiterating constantly how inept at leadership many leading Lords and Viceroys were. In addition, because the book covers a period of 216 years - and a turbulant and eventful 216 years at that - there is only room for so much detail. Therefore, it provides the bare bones (and some lean flesh) of imperial decline, but due to the book's nature as an overview, and realistic length restraints, it is lacking in the full, meaty detail.
So, for those wanting some background reading, or an introduction to the British Empire, I would really recommend this book. If you want in-depth, specialist analysis of the main features and events of the empire, Brendon lays only the ground upon which other sources can build.
The style is engaging, witty and informative, and very readable; by dryly stating facts and quoting people involved, many of the more absurd aspects of the empire are put across humourously. Everything is clearly written and explained, so for those with a less-than-impressive imperial knowledge (myself included), 'Decline and Fall' is an excellent starting point.
However, it dwells too heavily upon the foolishness of those running the empire, reiterating constantly how inept at leadership many leading Lords and Viceroys were. In addition, because the book covers a period of 216 years - and a turbulant and eventful 216 years at that - there is only room for so much detail. Therefore, it provides the bare bones (and some lean flesh) of imperial decline, but due to the book's nature as an overview, and realistic length restraints, it is lacking in the full, meaty detail.
So, for those wanting some background reading, or an introduction to the British Empire, I would really recommend this book. If you want in-depth, specialist analysis of the main features and events of the empire, Brendon lays only the ground upon which other sources can build.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
There are innumerable clichés about the British Empire - that it was acquired in a fit of absent-mindedness by shopkeepers, that it was dismantled in a relatively benign manner, that on the whole it was the best of the Empires. Reading this book I'm not sure I can agree with any of those statements.
Spanning the years from 1781, just after the loss of the American colonies, up to 1997 and the handover of Hong Kong, this book is effectively one long history of acquisitiveness, greed, oppression, brutality and hypocrisy. I was quite shocked, to tell the truth. British colonial history never formed part of the syllabus at any point in my schooling, so I've never really known much about the Empire past Kipling and 'the white man's burden', the sun 'never setting on the British Empire' and the lingering legacy of the Commonwealth.
The most striking hallmark of the British Empire was, for me, the inherent hypocrisy at its very heart. The enduring claim was that Britain had a 'duty of care' to protect and nurture these colonies until they could mature to independence - an incredibly patronising attitude to begin with. But in actuality the Empire was far more about exploiting these colonies for our own benefits than any interest or duty to its native inhabitants.
The shadow of Rome hangs over this book like a cloud. All of the imperialists were incredibly aware of the fate of Rome, and the idea that the mother-nation would inevitably fall along with the Empire helps to explain a lot of the attitudes found in this book. What of Rome now, the imperialists would say. What of Macedonia and Egypt and Greece? They had a mortal fear of Britannia's decline and the notion of Empire was incredibly bound up in that. That Britannia still stands, more or less, whilst our Empire has long gone, bar a few rocky outposts that still prove a thorn in the side (say, the Falklands), is more a testament to the modern era than anything politicians, capitalists and imperialists did.
To be honest, it's a miracle any nation wants to be a part of the Commonwealth. With that kind of colonial legacy I'm amazed they want anything to do with 'Great' Britain.
Spanning the years from 1781, just after the loss of the American colonies, up to 1997 and the handover of Hong Kong, this book is effectively one long history of acquisitiveness, greed, oppression, brutality and hypocrisy. I was quite shocked, to tell the truth. British colonial history never formed part of the syllabus at any point in my schooling, so I've never really known much about the Empire past Kipling and 'the white man's burden', the sun 'never setting on the British Empire' and the lingering legacy of the Commonwealth.
The most striking hallmark of the British Empire was, for me, the inherent hypocrisy at its very heart. The enduring claim was that Britain had a 'duty of care' to protect and nurture these colonies until they could mature to independence - an incredibly patronising attitude to begin with. But in actuality the Empire was far more about exploiting these colonies for our own benefits than any interest or duty to its native inhabitants.
The shadow of Rome hangs over this book like a cloud. All of the imperialists were incredibly aware of the fate of Rome, and the idea that the mother-nation would inevitably fall along with the Empire helps to explain a lot of the attitudes found in this book. What of Rome now, the imperialists would say. What of Macedonia and Egypt and Greece? They had a mortal fear of Britannia's decline and the notion of Empire was incredibly bound up in that. That Britannia still stands, more or less, whilst our Empire has long gone, bar a few rocky outposts that still prove a thorn in the side (say, the Falklands), is more a testament to the modern era than anything politicians, capitalists and imperialists did.
To be honest, it's a miracle any nation wants to be a part of the Commonwealth. With that kind of colonial legacy I'm amazed they want anything to do with 'Great' Britain.
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
"The Decline and Fall of the British Empire" by Piers Brendon is an entertaining narrative history of the British Empire from the time of the American Revolution to the lowering of the Union Jack in Hong Kong barely a dozen years ago. The cover of the book itself nicely sums up Brendons iconoclastic attitude, at the top we have what might be termed a painting of the "Imperial Realism" school: a bunch of jaunty chaps from across the Empire marching to War (non whites at the back); the reality, or one reality, is below: an informal grouping of young imperialists, rat arsed with the chap sitting on the bench in agonizingly tight trousers sporting a moustache (which he has somehow wangled from a walrus) and looking particularly deranged.
Brendon seeks to capture the essence of Empire by demystifying it with a stream of anecdotes that are firmly anchored to the events that make up that Empires History. His accounts of the various characters, British and otherwise who had their moments at the centre of the Imperial stage is in a manner that is both illuminating, wry and occasionally even hilarious (especially regarding facial hair of which his knowledge is encyclopaedic). He has an eye and for the apposite quote, writes in an extremely fluent prose which is a pleasure to read and manages to treat the whole subject in a light and accessible manner without trivialising such brutal events as the Bengal "famine" of World War 2, the Opium Wars, the Bengal "famine" after conquistador Clives conquests or the abysmal treatment of aboriginal peoples in Australasia.
I would hesitate to call it a scholarly work which is not to say that there is anything incorrect in the narrative or dubious in Brendons opinions, just that the book lacks the in depth analysis of Economic, Demographic, Political and Cultural factors both in Britain in particular and the Empire in general. What it does do is give the reader a whirlwind tour of Imperial History from 1781 to 1997 and as such would be ideal either as an introductory book to the Empire or as a diversion for the more jaded scholar.
Brendon seeks to capture the essence of Empire by demystifying it with a stream of anecdotes that are firmly anchored to the events that make up that Empires History. His accounts of the various characters, British and otherwise who had their moments at the centre of the Imperial stage is in a manner that is both illuminating, wry and occasionally even hilarious (especially regarding facial hair of which his knowledge is encyclopaedic). He has an eye and for the apposite quote, writes in an extremely fluent prose which is a pleasure to read and manages to treat the whole subject in a light and accessible manner without trivialising such brutal events as the Bengal "famine" of World War 2, the Opium Wars, the Bengal "famine" after conquistador Clives conquests or the abysmal treatment of aboriginal peoples in Australasia.
I would hesitate to call it a scholarly work which is not to say that there is anything incorrect in the narrative or dubious in Brendons opinions, just that the book lacks the in depth analysis of Economic, Demographic, Political and Cultural factors both in Britain in particular and the Empire in general. What it does do is give the reader a whirlwind tour of Imperial History from 1781 to 1997 and as such would be ideal either as an introductory book to the Empire or as a diversion for the more jaded scholar.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A detailed narrative account with serious flaws.
Brendon's research and impeccable detail are evident from the very beginning. However quite often he goes overboard when describing particular people and events that have little... Read more
Published on 19 April 2010 by Alex
Unveiling the Hidden Face of the British Empire
This is an excellent book that cuts through the sentiment and cant that is so often associated with the British Empire. Read more
Published on 22 Mar 2010 by John Fitzpatrick
One tricky pony
This is a readable and entertaining account of the history of the British Empire but seriously marred by a low, relentless hum of snearing. Read more
Published on 2 Feb 2010 by Robin A. J. Nicholas
A book that tells the truth and overturns the comfortable history...
I read this book with an open mind and with a view to see how different it was from other books on the British Empire which always end up praising what the Empire did for the... Read more
Published on 25 Aug 2009 by Yanni Sis
The demystification of the "Empire"
This is history at is best !Brendon has finally the courage as eminent scholar to tell te truth about the decline and fall of the British Empire. Read more
Published on 24 April 2009 by Pierre Willemsens
Wide ranging, absorbing account of the last years of the British...
By pulling together the experiences of so many countries, this book provides a fascinating insight into the diversity of the colossus that was the British Empire. Read more
Published on 16 April 2009 by The Partick Potter
All roads lead to Rome
This book is spoiled by comparisons to the Roman Empire on too many pages: Quotes from Kipling on almost as many: and far too many quotes from books just to describe a character. Read more
Published on 20 Jan 2009 by E. Brumby
Ambitious
This is an ambitious attempt to chronicle the rise and fall of the British Empire. And it is by no mean flawless. Read more
Published on 7 Dec 2008 by Hey Bulldog
Absorbing. Balanced and an excellent true yarn.
Im still reading this, It gives a considered and riveting tale of my Countrys History. Keep an open mind, fantastic achievements by towering figures, they were Empire builders and... Read more
Published on 29 Aug 2008 by ANDY
Excellent
Absorbing and comprehensive account of the decline of the British Empire.
No library should be without it.
No library should be without it.
Published on 5 Feb 2008 by LoveReading
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