A History of Britain - Volume 3

The Fate of Empire 1776-2000

Simon Schama, CBE

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English

Bodley Head
01 January 2010

History; British & Irish history

The third book in Simon Schama's acclaimed three-volume journey into Britain's past.

The final stage of Simon Schama's epic voyage around Britain spans centuries, crosses the breadth of the empire and covers a vast expanse of topics - from the birth of feminism to the fate of freedom.

The Fate of the Empire asks crucial questions about the nature of empire, journeying from celebrations of industrial and imperialist power at the Great Exhibition, to the catastrophic Irish potato famine and the Indian Mutiny.

Through the military and economic shocks and traumas of our past, Schama asks the question that is still with us - is the immense weight of our history a blessing or a curse, a gift or a millstone around the neck of our future?

This third and final volume in the series is a vast compelling history, made more so by the lively storytelling and big bold characters at the heart of the action. But alongside flamboyant heroes, like Nelson and Churchill, Schama recalls unsung heroines and virtually unknown enemies. Alongside the grand ideas, he exposes the grand illusions that cost untold lives.

By: Simon Schama CBE
Imprint: Bodley Head
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 153mm, Spine: 34mm
Weight: 620g
ISBN: 9781847920140
ISBN 10: 1847920144
Pages: 448
Publication Date: 01 January 2010
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Simon Schama is University Professor of Art History and History at Columbia University and the prize-winning author of fourteen books, which have been translated into twenty languages. They include The Embarrassment of Riches: An Interpretation of Dutch Culture in the Golden Age; Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution; Landscape and Memory; Rembrandt's Eyes; the History of Britain trilogy and Rough Crossings, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award. He has written widely on music, art, politics and food for the Guardian, Vogue and the New Yorker. His award-winning television work as writer and presenter for the BBC stretches over two decades and includes the fifteen-part A History of Britain and the eight-part, Emmy-winning Power of Art. The American Future: A History appeared on BBC2 in autumn 2008.

Reviews for A History of Britain - Volume 3: The Fate of Empire 1776-2000

Schama has a masterly ability to conjure up character and vivify conflict. -- Ben Rogers * Financial Times * He remains a master storyteller, admirably and sceptically well read in current revisionist histories, and a wonderful guide to a new history of Britain. * The Times * Simon Schama's A History of Britain is far more than the book of the TV series... The book is far richer and fuller, covering a huge span so economically that there is room for plenty of arresting detail... It is the sort of vivid history that keeps you awake. * Daily Mail * Popular history at its finest. * Sunday Express * A History of Britain, its text supplemented by wonderful illustrations, affords the rare joy of witnessing a scholar at the peak of his powers convincing the reader that he has a cracking good tale to tell and that he is loving every minute of the telling. -- Roy Porter * Literary Review *