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Empire
- How Britain Made the Modern World
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble, Niall Ferguson
- Length: 16 hrs and 11 mins
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Empire
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Summary
Penguin presents the unabridged audiobook edition of Empire by Niall Ferguson, read by Jonathan Keeble.
Once vast swathes of the globe were coloured imperial red, and Britannia ruled not just the waves but the prairies of America, the plains of Asia, the jungles of Africa and 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 its 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.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Elaine
- 01-01-18
Makes you think
Mr Ferguson always makes me think and has done much to alter my view of history. This is, in general, another excellent book.
I would say that he takes a very macro view of the benefits of empire. Not unrealistic but viewed from a safe distance.
I would also add that I feel he falls into the trap of condemning Ireland for not fighting on the allied side in Ww2. Ireland was a tiny, impoverished nation that had, less than 20 years previously, finally won its freedom from its ancient enemy ie Britain. No government could have asked its citizens to fight for Britain without risking a descent into another bloody civil war.
He further fails to mention how Irelands neutrality was very strongly inclined towards Britain.
On the whole though this is a superb book and leaves you thinking about the world from a different perspective. I enjoyed it immensely.
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24 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- shroley
- 14-07-22
Great Listen
It always helps to know a little bit about the subject matter before listening to a book like Empire. But you don't have to be an expert.
I can't tell you how much I enjoyed listening to this book. Packed full of little snippets that added to the larger picture. Currently The British Empire is a bit of a dodgy subject, but I felt the good and the bad were reflected and Niall Ferguson gave a balanced view.
Jonathan Keeble the narrator was fabulous.
Loved it.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Jamie68
- 09-02-23
Superb
A fair, informative and balanced assessment of an often controversial and misunderstood subject. It taught me so much about perspective of this often difficult area of history. Thoroughly recommended.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- John
- 03-04-24
A lot of people would do well to listen to this book
Fantastic book, well written and genuinely informative whilst remaining on the whole balanced
Britannia ruled the waves until its so called two faced friend became a Shylock
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- Dave R
- 02-07-19
Enjoyable
An interesting overview of the history of the British empire. I thoroughly enjoyed this and thought it was well read.
Two small criticisms:
1. I did feel the overall structure could have been improved slightly and timelines jumped about a bit though appreciate it's difficult to stick to chronological or geographical structure given the vastness of the topic.
2. There was an undercurrent of the need to justify British Colonialism as being 'not too bad' or 'not as bad as other colonial powers rule'. I don't think this was entirely necessary and slightly undermined the impartiality of the analysis.
Overall I would recommend the book and on the whole it was well balanced and insightful.
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9 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- T. Keates
- 04-05-20
An indepth anthology of the British Empire
Very detailed and the book delivers the weight and gravity that the British Empire had on the history of creating the modern world. Also how the British impacted on other empires that rose and fell along side its own. The shear size and organisational complexity in its heyday is breathtaking. The reader's delivery of characters within the storyline is excellent.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Jack Hales
- 19-04-21
Superb
A short and sweet moral defence and history of the world's largest empire. Excellent narrator, highly engaging and clear narrative telling stories of the empire we're no longer allowed to hear.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Reece
- 05-10-18
A steady but very dense book
This book starts off very slowly and continues like this until it talks about WW2 and then it changes pace. Although it is slow it is very encapsulating and never brushes over anything.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- John Lovie
- 25-03-22
Excellent
I really enjoy Jonathan Keeble’s narration. Brings so much to audio books. Another great example. I learned a lot from this book and will hear Amazing Grace with a new perspective going forward.
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- the60sthrowback
- 24-10-22
Brilliant
a concise and not necessarily as expected look at imperial history Ferguson presents an un biased not wholly condemnatory conclusion that surprised me. I suspect not for everyone who has an entirely un nuanced view of empire but an entertaining and interesting overview.
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