Blood, Class and Empire: The Enduring Anglo-American Relationship

Since the end of the Cold War, so-called experts have been predicting the eclipse of America's "special relationship" with Britain. But as events have shown—especially in the wake of 9/11—the political and cultural ties between America and Britain have only grown stronger.

Blood, Class and Empire delves into the dynamics of this enduring relationship, exploring its many cultural manifestations, including:

• The James Bond series
• PBS "Brit Kitsch"
• Rudyard Kipling

The book explains why this bond continues to persist in modern times.

Contrarian, essayist, and polemicist Christopher Hitchens offers a compelling perspective on this relationship. While it is often presented as a matter of tradition, manners, and common culture, sanctified by wartime alliance, Hitchens argues that the special ingredient is empire. This empire, transmitted from an ancient regime, has sought to preserve and renew itself through this bond.

England, he observes, has attempted to play Greece to the American Rome. Ironically, however, by encouraging the United States to become an equal partner in the business of empire, Britain ultimately found itself supplanted.