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Title: Empire: The Rise and Demise of the British World Order and the Lessons for Global Power by Niall Ferguson ISBN: 0-465-02329-0 Publisher: Basic Books Pub. Date: 13 April, 2004 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.46 (35 reviews)
Rating: 2
Summary: Gripping at straws
Comment: What the heck has happened to Niall Ferguson? Before reading Empire, I had him placed in my mind as an eccentric and enjoyable young historian and the author of sometimes inaccessible historical tomes that -- if you could make it through them -- often gave innovative takes to what had been tired subjects.
I cannot say that I agree with everything in previous efforts from Mr. Ferguson: in The Pity of War, for example, one of his main points was that Germany was not militaristic before the first world war. And in The House of Rothschild (his best book), I believe Mr. Ferguson's take on the French family judges them to harshly by using today's standards on a 19th century history. But with Empire, the author appears to have completely lost his hold on reality.
Mr. Ferguson spends most of the book's 352 glossy pages glossing over some of the atrocities of Britain's colonial period (he does not claim it was faultless, only that the spilled blood was necessary). He argues for the virtues of colonial rule in India, and spends far too little time and effort on the policies that set the stage for apartheid in South Africa. He says that the money and technology the empire spread balanced out the evils committed in colonial Africa and parts of Asia and the Caribbean. But this is all just setting the stage for his argument about the current American empire, and the lessons it can learn from Britain's former position as the world's lone superpower.
The issue of America's role in the world using history as a guide is an important and interesting subject -- and I enjoyed reading Mr. Ferguson's argument that, as a former British colony, the U.S. is a kind of heir to Britain's empire. But his appalling conclusion is that the U.S. should tighten its grip of influence on the world and make its self into an empire in more ways than the simple economic, social and military dominance it has now. What? Isn't America's might and unilateral policies what sparked anti-Americanism across the globe? If the U.S. followed the British example, wouldn't the kind of uprisings and insurgencies that crippled it at its peak be many times worse now, when combined with modern technology?
This book is not designed to be read on its own, but as a companion to a BBC television series. I have not seen the series, but I must imagine that certain topics were selected and highlighted because they made good television. I don't know how that explains Mr. Ferguson's dangerous conclusions, but I am gripping at straws here. I guess I don't want to believe that a writer I have admired in the past has really become so distasteful.
Rating: 4
Summary: A biased but Interesting Book
Comment: You don't have to agree with Niall Ferguson to enjoy this interesting and competent book. Ferguson's main idea is that the British empire was the worst possible empire, except for all of the others (except maybe the US). His conclusion is that the empire was flawed but ultimatley benevolent and that for the most part the long term results were fairly positive. This is not a view that I or many others share but Ferguson backs it up with facts, albiet with a spin. And he does make good points. Britain's actions in INdia were oppressive but would France or Germany have allowed it to form a National Congress or even let a man like Ghandi become a lawyer? And he also does well to point out that for most of it's history Britian was a reluctant imperial power and that *most* acts of overt imperialism before the 1880's were not initiated by the government but by private companies. Which is true. Cecil Rhodes did not work for the government and the East Inidan COmpany ruled India until 1857. And we sometimes forget that it was the Boer majority of whites in South Africa that helped cause the problems to come, not that the British did much to prevent it or that they were much better in countries were this wasn't a problem. However, it was made a domain in 1910, which meant British influence on domestic affairs was limited. In my opinion, Ferguson offers an interesting but not entirely convincing view of the empire.
I recomend this book to anyone interested in the British Empire. It's always nice to read books from different percpectives and some of the stories he relays are very interesting. Just be warned the Niall Ferguson is, by his own admission in the Introduction, biased. SO be sure to take everything he says with a grain of salt.
Rating: 5
Summary: Lessons For Today
Comment: The British Empire isn't recalled too wistfully today, but yet, as Ferguson reminds us, its importance for spreading western institutions like property rights and the rule-of-law around the world cannot be underestimated. Not can its sheer scope. With a standing army in the hundreds of thousands, Britain governed hundreds of millions of people. Plus, having an Empire is bloody entertaining -- at least for the folks reading the papers back in London.
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Title: Colossus: The Price of America's Empire by Niall Ferguson ISBN: 1594200130 Publisher: The Penguin Press Pub. Date: 22 April, 2004 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
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Title: The Cash Nexus: Money and Power in the Modern World, 1700-2000 by Niall Ferguson ISBN: 0465023266 Publisher: Basic Books Pub. Date: February, 2002 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Of Paradise and Power: America and Europe in the New World Order by Robert Kagan ISBN: 1400040930 Publisher: Knopf Pub. Date: 28 January, 2003 List Price(USD): $18.00 |
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Title: The Pity of War: Explaining World War I by Niall Ferguson ISBN: 0465057128 Publisher: Basic Books Pub. Date: 10 March, 2000 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Paris 1919 : Six Months That Changed the World by Margaret MacMillan ISBN: 0375760520 Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks Pub. Date: 09 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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