Rating: 
Summary: How the British Built the World
Review: The British Empire is one of those subjects about which one could spend a lifetime reading. For those interested in a good general overview of the Empire to gain a solid understanding of it but who do not want their heads to explode with every small detail, then EMPIRE is a good book to pick.
Niall Ferguson covers all the bases, including how and why the Empire began, how the British sustained such a massive empire over one-quarter of the globe in extremely different cultures, as well as the reasons for the Empire's ultimate decline. The British were not the first Europeans to try their hands at empire and, for some time, they were not even very successful at it. Only by studying their more successful competitors did the British assume the predominant global position.
The Empire's influence is traced throughout the world, including North America, Africa, India and Australia. The economic and military capacities that grew and sustained the Empire are examined, as are the military benefits of the Empire. As one example, it was interesting to read how the Dutch initially had a far more successful empire than the British even though by any objective measure, i.e. sea power, population, geographic advantage, the British should have had the upper hand. The solution was in the field of economics. The Dutch had created financial systems allowing for the growth of an empire whereas the British were hobbled by more rudimentary economic systems. By emulating Dutch economics, the British were able to pull ahead.
The strength of this book is that Ferguson focuses not merely on the negative or brutal aspects of empire, as is the vogue among so many of the educated elite, but on the positive as well. It is noteworthy that those countries that are among the most successful and affluent today, such as the U.S., Australia and Canada, have their roots within the British Empire. This is true even in non-Anglo societies. Is there any country as poor yet as civilized as India? Ferguson makes the powerful argument that this can be traced to social institutions imported by the British into other societies, such as the rule of law, free markets, representative assemblies and even the concept of liberty itself. Although these institutions may have been imperfectly practiced, the seeds were nonetheless imported by the British and were thereafter able to flourish. For all the imperfections and even nastiness that may be attributable to British rule, it is difficult to imagine any other avenue by which this could have been achieved.
Ferguson also reminds us that the choice facing the world was often not between the British Empire and no empire at all. Rather the choice was between competing empires, most of which were far, far darker than the British variant and which would have left far less autonomy to their subjects. This issue came to the fore with the rise of Hitler's Germany when the British presence around the world contributed significantly to the defeat of totalitarianism. The price paid for this was the weakening of Great Britain itself which set the stage for numerous colonies to gain their independence.
For a book to merely provide a good history often makes it worth reading. Ferguson has achieved this. Yet he has achieved more. He has re-evaluated the British Empire when imperialism is viewed in the West as intrinsically bad in its entirety. The cold hard fact that many people may not like to hear is that anyone who truly cherishes freedom owes a debt - a very big debt - to British imperialism. For this, EMPIRE deserves to be read.
Rating: 
Summary: A Great Book
Review: The British Empire was the biggest, most powerful Empire ever known both militaristically and economically. Success like that doesn't come without a price. Many atrocities were committed and no amount of justification can change that appalling part of British history. However even in these modern times atrocities are committed all the time by nations on every continent of the world. Terror it would seem is part of human nature now as it was back then.Many reviewers go on about British atrocities, how the empire was built on other people's sufferings but was America not built on Indian land? The author fails to note many arguments of how what Britian did was no different to what empires both old and new have done. Where thousands of Indians not killed or forced out of their homes to make way for new American settlements? In a time were humanity was less then kind and generous Britain achieved what had never been achieved before, almost complete world domination. It modernized much of the world, brought order were there was none and kept down many evil dictators bent on world conquest (Hitler, Napoleon...). The book is not an apology for British rule but a refreshing look at the benefits of British rule, what Britian brought to the world. It doesn't skip the bad points of that nor justify them, it a good view of British history. 5 Stars It's a great book!
Rating:
Summary: History with a Conscience!
Review: The story of the British Empire is a sprawling story and a vast undertaking. However, Niall Ferguson proves up to the challenge in this witty and objective account. Why Britain? Because they were the best pirates and stole much of what they gained from the Spanish, Dutch, French, and then plundered India, the Caribbean, North America, and Africa. Ferguson's writing is so fresh and enlightening. In his conclusion, he mentions how the U.S. has become the heirs of the British Empire, although reluctant to take up the mantel. We have the resources to continue a `New Imperialism,' but lack the export of capital and people to really colonize and carry the cause of liberty to others.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing, lacks some fine points
Review: THis tour de force traces the rise and decline of the British empire and emphatically argues that although not always wonderful the British empire was the best alternative to empire like the Nazis and Japanese 'coprosperity sphere'. In this wonderful volume we learn of the exploits of Livingston, Clive, and many others who carved out 25 percent of the world for England. We learn of the less glorious aspects like the Boer war and the anti-slavery movement. THe major oversight is neglecting to the tell the tale of UDI in Rhodesia, of Smuts and of Mao Mao or the Falklands war, but nevertheless this book explains how Britian made the Modern world. Seth J. Frantzman
Rating: 
Summary: Gripping at straws
Review: 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:
Summary: A biased but Interesting Book
Review: 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.
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