This is a great introduction to the second British Empire. Short chapters on themes and specific historic events are woven together to give an insightful but not exhaustive story of the development of the Empire. ( )

ok
Heaven's Command---An Imperial Progress by James Morris
Just finished this first volume of Morris' trilogy on the British Empire. All the characters and incidents are here: Gladstone, Disraeli, Cecil Rhodes, General Gordon, Parnell, Napier, the Zulus, the Sepoy Rebellion, Richard Burton, Livingston, Stanley, General Wolseley, the discovery of the source of the Nile, the extermination of the native Tasmanians, the Ashanti War, the Orange Free State, the Transvaal, the first Boer War, the Boer Victory at Majuba, Irish Home Rule, Paul Kruger, British Afghan disaster of 1842, the Hudson Bay Company, the Fenians, the Irish Famine, Daniel O'Connell, the Lawrences and the conquest of the Punjab, the Great Exhibition of 1951, Prince Albert and Queen Victoria, Lord Palmerston, etc.

Some poetry. First we hear of Irish resentment.

O Paddy dear an' did ye here the news that's go in' round?
The shamrock is by law forbid to grow on Irish ground!

And Kipling said to the USA about how tough it was--ruling an Empire:
Take up the White Man's Burden----
Have done with childish days----
The lightly proffered laurel,
The easy, ungrudged, praise.

Tennyson on the superiority of British culture:
Through the shadow of the globe we sweep into the younger day;
Better fifty years of Europe than a cycle of Cathay.

In summary, this was a fascinating start to a time when the sun never set on the British Empire. ( )

It is always a pleasure to read a Jan Morris book even if the subject is of limited interest, but in this case, she is covering an era of which I knew relatively little, the British Empire during the reign of Victoria. She populates the book with a cast of memorable characters, some of whom I had heard of (Gladstone and Disraeli) but many others I had never come across, mainly military. She brings them to life through the quality of her writing. Fortunately she is a prolific writer so there are many more books for me still to read. ( )

Unless you have studied the history of the 19th century in earnest, you are probably like me - you pick up bits and pieces from all manner of sources. For me that includes everything from Kent's Bolitho, to Cornwell's Sharpe, to Fraser's Flashman. This series ties much of it together, providing an overall context and basis in fact, allowing you to better judge fact from fiction. Highly recommended. ( )

Unless you have studied the history of the 19th century in earnest, you are probably like me - you pick up bits and pieces from all manner of sources. For me that includes everything from Kent's Bolitho, to Cornwell's Sharpe, to Fraser's Flashman. This series ties much of it together, providing an overall context and basis in fact, allowing you to better judge fact from fiction. Highly recommended. ( )