Empire: How Britain Made the Modern World

Niall Ferguson's acclaimed bestseller on the highs and lows of Britain's empire

Once vast swathes of the globe were coloured imperial red, and Britannia ruled not just the waves, but also:

• The prairies of America
• The plains of Asia
• The jungles of Africa
• The deserts of Arabia

Just how did a small, rainy island in the North Atlantic achieve all this? And why did the empire on which the sun literally never set finally decline and fall?

Niall Ferguson's acclaimed Empire brilliantly unfolds the imperial story in all its splendours and miseries, showing how a gang of buccaneers and gold-diggers planted the seed of the biggest empire in all history—and set the world on the road to modernity.

Praise for Empire:

• "The most brilliant British historian of his generation"
  "Ferguson examines the roles of 'pirates, planters, missionaries, mandarins, bankers and bankrupts' in the creation of history's largest empire ... he writes with splendid panache ... and a seemingly effortless, debonair wit."
  — Andrew Roberts
• "Dazzling ... wonderfully readable"
  — New York Review of Books
• "A remarkably readable précis of the whole British imperial story—triumphs, deceits, decencies, kindnesses, cruelties and all."
  — Jan Morris
• "Empire is a pleasure to read and brims with insights and intelligence."
  — Sunday Times