Empire Ways

The British Empire was an astonishingly complex and varied phenomenon not to be reduced to any of the simple generalisations or theories that are often taken to characterise it. One way of illustrating this and so conveying some of the subtle flavour of the thing itself is to descend from the over-arching to the particular and describe and discuss aspects of it in detail. This book by the well-known imperial historian Bernard Porter ranges among a wide range of the events and personalities that shaped or were shaped by British imperialism or by its decline in the post-war years. These include chapters on science drugs battles proconsuls an odd assortment of imperialists including Kipling Lady Hester Stanhope and TE Lawrence architecture music the role of MI6 and the reputation of the Empire since its demise. Together the chapters inform explain provoke and occasionally amuse; but above all they demonstrate the kaleidoscopic variety and ambivalence of Britain s imperial history.