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The British Empire

By: Stephen W. Sears
Narrated by: Corrie James
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Summary

Here is the story of how the English acquired their vast domain; how they ruled, maintained, and exploited it; and how, within decades, they presided over its dissolution. Here are Britain's triumphs and also her stinging defeats, her heroes and her scoundrels. It is a full and fascinating chronicle of the growth of the British Empire and its people and of the impact that empire had on the rest of the world.

©2014 American Heritage (P)2017 HighBridge, a Division of Recorded Books
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What listeners say about The British Empire

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Excellent story - Excellent performance

This title is long - I wondered if I'd get through it.... BUT actually I'm hooked! It is logical, clear, detailed - yet not overpowering, and most of all, interesting. The text is well-written and the performance of Corrie James is very competent. This is one of the best books I've listened to.

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Enlightening

A great structure for such a complex theme. I believe it is a fair book. It wasn’t the first and nor the last but in reality the most ‘famous’.

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Pro-British Empire

This is an overview of the British Empire spanning over 500 years with different authors for each chapter. However the narration makes this seamless. However it is very pro-British with very little analysis. Entire books have been written on each chapter. Overall it is a good entry level story but for greater depth and analysis Jan Morris' trilogy is better

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Flawed but useful overview

Flawed but useful overview. Found a few factual errors throughout. It helped elucidate the mechanics of empire however and gave me a more nuanced view of it. Many chapters are cowritten of have other writers, so atitudes toward empire vary throughout. Some chapters are more pro/others more critical.

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A Balanced History

This book provides a fair and balanced history of the British Empire, it points out moment of glory without being ignorant of the negatives such as the developed racism of the 19th century.

well read in audiobook form it is a gental listen that does the empire justice

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Exactly what it says on the tin

This book is very well delivered, and it covers absolutely everything you can think of. I could not have hoped for a more comprehensive book on the matter. The introduction is a little bit slow but once worked through it is certainly worth while.

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Entertaining and informative.

This is a very interesting and informative book which covers a great deal of material and history. I found it easy to listen to and the narration was clear and engaging.

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