THREE VICTORIES AND A DEFEAT: THE RISE AND FALL OF THE FIRST BRITISH EMPIRE 1714-1783

Simms, Brendan

ISBN 10: 0465013325 / ISBN 13: 9780465013326

Published by Basic Books, 2009

About this Item

1st USA 2009. Very good condition in a very good dustwrapper. The story of Britain's extraordinary scramble to world power in the 18th century and how, through hubris and incompetence, it lost almost everything it had gained. Red paper boards, gilt title to blue paper spine. B/w maps and illustrations. xvii and 802 pages including index. American Edition. Light vertical reading creases to spine, minor mark to front edge of spine, light shelf-rubbing to base of spine. Faint marks to boards. Text block a little dusty. Else contents clean. Pictorial dustwrapper is slightly grubby. Packaged with care and promptly dispatched!

Seller Inventory # 1831442

Bibliographic Details

• Title: THREE VICTORIES AND A DEFEAT: THE RISE AND FALL OF THE FIRST BRITISH EMPIRE 1714-1783
• Publisher: Basic Books
• Publication Date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0465013325
• ISBN 13: 9780465013326
• Binding: Hardback
• Edition: First edition.
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good

About this title

Synopsis

In the eighteenth century, Britain became a world superpower through a series of sensational military strikes. Traditionally, the Royal Navy has been seen as Britain's key weapon, but in Three Victories and a Defeat Brendan Simms argues that Britain's true strength lay with the German aristocrats who ruled it at the time. The House of Hanover superbly managed a complex series of European alliances that enabled Britain to keep the continental balance of power in check while dramatically expanding her own empire. These alliances sustained the nation through the War of the Spanish Succession, the War of the Austrian Succession, and the Seven Years' War. But in 1776, Britain lost the American continent by alienating her European allies.

An extraordinary reinterpretation of British and American history, Three Victories and a Defeat is a masterwork by a rising star of the historical profession.

About the Author

Brendan Simms is a professor in the History of International Relations and fellow at Peterhouse College, Cambridge. He is the author of eight previous books, including The Longest Afternoon: The 400 Men Who Decided the Battle of Waterloo and Europe: The Struggle for Supremacy, from 1453 to the Present, shortlisted for the Lionel Gelber Prize. He lives in Cambridge, UK.