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Robert Gildea is Professor of Modern History at the University of Oxford. He has written extensively on French and European history in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Among the many awards his publications have garnered, Fighters in the Shadows: A New History of the French Resistance (2015) was longlisted for the Samuel Johnson prize and Marianne in Chains: In Search of the German Occupation (2003) won the 2003 Wolfson History Prize.
Advance praise: 'Empires of the Mind is a uniquely valuable account of the fate of the French and British empires.' William Roger Louis, University of Texas Advance praise: 'Accessibly written and genuinely comparative, Robert Gildea's new analysis of the lingering effects and bitter aftershocks of British and French colonialism is essential reading for anyone keen to understand where legacies of empire register in contemporary politics. A terrific read.' Martin Thomas, author of Fight or Flight: Britain, France and their Roads from Empire Advance praise: 'Empires of the Mind is an exhilarating comparative survey of British and French self-regard from competitive collaboration in the hecatombs of slavery, through Suez in 1956, to responses to immigrants from ex-colonies, Islamic fundamentalism and Brexit. Among many startling quotes we read Nigel Farage claiming Brits are different from Europeans. Robert Gildea shows that we are too alike.' Anthony Barnett, founder of openDemocracy Advance praise: 'The past never remains in the past, Robert Gildea skilfully reminds us as he recounts the brutal histories of both British and French colonial and neo-colonial ventures. This is a book that insists on the connections between what happens/ed 'out there' and what happens/ed 'in here' and helps us to think through that complex and dangerous entanglement, which continues to inform our contemporary politics today.' Catherine Hall, author of Civilising Subjects: Metropole and Colony in the English Imagination 1830-1867 'Empires of the Mind is a uniquely valuable account of the fate of the French and British empires.' William Roger Louis, University of Texas 'Accessibly written and genuinely comparative, Robert Gildea's new analysis of the lingering effects and bitter aftershocks of British and French colonialism is essential reading for anyone keen to understand where legacies of empire register in contemporary politics. A terrific read.' Martin Thomas, author of Fight or Flight: Britain, France and their Roads from Empire `Empires of the Mind is an exhilarating comparative survey of British and French self-regard from competitive collaboration in the hecatombs of slavery, through Suez in 1956, to responses to immigrants from ex-colonies, Islamic fundamentalism and Brexit. Among many startling quotes we read Nigel Farage claiming Brits are different from Europeans. Robert Gildea shows that we are too alike.' Anthony Barnett, founder of openDemocracy `The past never remains in the past, Robert Gildea skilfully reminds us as he recounts the brutal histories of both British and French colonial and neo-colonial ventures. This is a book that insists on the connections between what happens/ed `out there' and what happens/ed `in here' and helps us to think through that complex and dangerous entanglement, which continues to inform our contemporary politics today.' Catherine Hall, author of Civilising Subjects: Metropole and Colony in the English Imagination 1830-1867
