Empire - What Ruling the World did for the British

Jeremy Paxman

ISBN 10: 0670919578 / ISBN 13: 9780670919574

Published by Viking Penguin, Bangkok, Thailand, 2011

About this Item

*** BOOK in Fine unread and unmarked condition. 1st edition, 1st printing. Red boards with gilt title on spine.356 pages, including index, notes and extensive bibliography 15 b&w illustrations and a map of the British Empire ca 1905. Colorful endpapers. *** DUST JACKET in very good condition, unclipped. *** CONTENTS: The premise of this study is that, when Britain had its Empire and made judgments on those populations, they, in turn, made judgments on the British.

Seller Inventory # 030441

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Empire - What Ruling the World did for the British
• Publisher: Viking Penguin, Bangkok, Thailand
• Publication Date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0670919578
• ISBN 13: 9780670919574
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Printing: 1st Printing
• Condition: Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good

About this title

Synopsis

The influence of the British Empire is everywhere, from the very existence of the United Kingdom to the ethnic composition of our cities. It affects everything, from Prime Ministers' decisions to send troops to war to the adventurers we admire. From the sports we think we're good at to the architecture of our buildings; the way we travel to the way we trade; and, the hopeless losers we will on, and the food we hunger for, the empire is never very far away. In this acute and witty analysis, Jeremy Paxman goes to the very heart of empire. As he describes the selection process for colonial officers ('intended to weed out the cad, the feeble and the too clever') the importance of sport, the sweating domestic life of the colonial officer's wife ('the challenge with cooking meat was 'to grasp the fleeting moment between toughness and putrefaction when the joint may possibly prove eatable") and the crazed end for General Gordon of Khartoum, Paxman brings brilliantly to life the tragedy and comedy of Empire and reveals its profound and lasting effect on our nation and ourselves.

About the Author

Jeremy Paxman was born in Yorkshire and educated at Cambridge. He is an award-winning journalist who spent ten years reporting from overseas, notably for Panorama. He is the author of five books including The English. He is the presenter of Newsnight and University Challenge and has presented BBC documentaries on various subjects including Victorian art and Wilfred Owen.