Empire

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.

ISBN 0670919578   Pages 368 ISBN13 9780670919574 (What's this?)   Weight (grammes) 624 Publisher Penguin Books Ltd   Published in London Imprint Viking   Height (mm) 240 Format Hardback   Width (mm) 162 Publication date 06 Oct 2011   Spine width (mm) 33 DEWEY 909.0971241   Academic level General DEWEY edition DC22

He writes with wit and penetration, and every page of Empire can be read with relaxed pleasure -- Spectator Paxman is witty, incisive, acerbic and opinionated ... In short, he carries the whole thing off with panache bordering on effrontery -- Piers Brendon Sunday Times A very engaging account...with a good sprinkling of jokes, funny nicknames and sexual references. Paxman makes some very sharp points and writes well -- Guardian

 Be the first to write a customer review

Version	Price	Published	Edition
Paperback	£9.99	2012
Electronic Book	£4.98