The Penguin Historical Atlas of the British Empire

Oct 10, 2024 8:25 PM

Author:Nigel Dalziel,Haywood & Hall,John Mackenzie

The Penguin Historical Atlas of the British Empire traces the emergence of the world's greatest empire from its earliest beginnings in the British Isles, through its ascendancy in Victorian times, to its ultimate collapse in the mid-20th century. It examines the impact of British dominance in America, India and Africa, and the enormous changes brought by Britain's settlement of Australasia. Coverage of major events - the colonization of Ireland, the American Revolution, the South African wars - is complemented by discussion of themes such as Imperial exploitation and trade, hunting for plants and animals, the Imperial exhibitions and the importance of British naval power. Also assessed are the impact of the Empire on different areas of the world and the legacy it has bestowed. Richly illustrated with photographs and full-colour maps, this is an illuminating and multi-faceted one-volume introduction to the rise and fall of the British Empire.

Reviews

Intelligent, well-written, informative and funny…A book to chew on, dip into, quote from and exploit in arguments

—— Andrew Marr , Observer

Bursting with good things

—— Daily Telegraph

'Brilliant and thorough reporting . . . the most thorough book on the subject'

—— Thomas Sancton, author of Death of a Princess

Highly accomplished ... there is much here to entertain and inform

—— Sunday Telegraph

Completely fascinating - written by the man who really knows

—— Richard and Judy

The writer who got closest to the human truth about our long-serving senior royals

—— The Times

This immense book is part masterpiece, part sheer exhaustion. The masterpiece part lies chiefly in its breathtaking invention

—— Jan Morris , The Times

Everywhere he goes, Mak is quietly ruthless in unmasking the acts of forgetting, selective amnesia, myth-making and historical obfuscation that persist...Mak is a truly cosmopolitan chronicler of shame and self-deceptions

—— David Goldblatt , Independent

His genius as a historian is his instinct for human stories... At moments in this monumental work... Mak is the history teacher everyone should have had

—— Simon Kuper , Financial Times

How eloquently Mak rails against the alliance of consumerism and bureaucracy! ... He has a great eye for telling detail... Only a powerful, humane and serious mind could give coherence to mass detail which, however arresting piece by piece, would otherwise soon become wearying... as much a journey around Geert Mak's head as it is a journey around Europe

—— Guardian

Fascinating

—— David V Barrett , Independent

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