Empire

How Britain Made the Modern World

Penguin presents the unabridged audiobook edition of Empire by Niall Ferguson, read by Jonathan Keeble.

Once vast swathes of the globe were coloured imperial red and Britannia ruled not just the waves, but the prairies of America, the plains of Asia, the jungles of Africa and the deserts of Arabia. Just how did a small, rainy island in the North Atlantic achieve all this? And why did the empire on which the sun literally never set finally decline and fall? Niall Ferguson's acclaimed Empire brilliantly unfolds the imperial story in all its splendours and its miseries, showing how a gang of buccaneers and gold-diggers planted the seed of the biggest empire in all history - and set the world on the road to modernity.

'The most brilliant British historian of his generation ... Ferguson examines the roles of "pirates, planters, missionaries, mandarins, bankers and bankrupts" in the creation of history's largest empire ... he writes with splendid panache ... and a seemingly effortless, debonair wit' Andrew Roberts

'Dazzling ... wonderfully readable' New York Review of Books

'A remarkably readable précis of the whole British imperial story - triumphs, deceits, decencies, kindnesses, cruelties and all' Jan Morris

'Empire is a pleasure to read and brims with insights and intelligence' Sunday Times

Apologies for Empire

Overall Ferguson meanders where he could state his point and give evidence directly, which feels like padding to an otherwise straightforward premise. Aside from putting every abuse of British power in a positive light, there are lessons to be learned here.

The performance was read well enough but the editing leaves dead air between some sentences, leaving you to wonder if you’ve lost connexion with your headphones.

It’s biased, but it’ll open one’s mind a bit.

Enlightening

I am glad I finished this enlightening work. The middle drug out in details, but the body of work is worth the time.

No country was better at Imperialism than Britain.

The narrator does an excellent job of voicing some of the people throughout history, especially Sir Winston Churchill.

You may pick a day, a year or a century and rightly find the British were cruel bastards. If given a choice, in the end, your country was better off with British rule than any other country.

They redeemed themselves early in the 19th century when they campaigned to end slavery. They did not ask the world twice to stop human trafficking. The Royal Navy enforced this proclamation. This was gun boat diplomacy at it's finest.

The Empire came about, in response to the European need for markets and growth. Holland, Spain, France and England were vying for new colonies in Africa and Asia. Britain was the most successful because the Industrial Revolution started in Britain. The IR succeeded because the British had an abundance of human capital, a stable government, the rule of law and a sound financial system. The Empire grew and succeeded when entrepreneurs were free to risk capital abroad and keep their gains. When a country was shown to be stable and investments profitable, the crown was ushered in to provide a framework to strengthen the society and develop a stable government.

In the end, the Empire began to falter, like a successful player of Monopoly. They had more than they could maintain and had to cut their losses.

Never a dull moment

A riveting, concise story brutally examining the rise and fall of the British Empire. Brilliant work!

Intellectuals dishonest

Ask your maid what she thought of the empire Neil .
Is the empire bad ? Maybe Is the answer given by a man who enjoyed the spoils of it .