Tag: British Empire

The Ottoman Endgame by Sean McMeekin

“So far from a sideshow to the First World War, the Ottoman theater was central to both the outbreak of European war in 1914 and the peace settlement that truly ended it.” (p. xviii) In The Ottoman Endgame, Sean McMeekin makes a strong argument that understanding the First World War without understanding the part of …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2017/06/16/the-ottoman-endgame-by-sean-mcmeekin/

A History of Britain Volume II: The Wars of the British 1603-1776 by Simon Schama

The first half of this book, on the English Civil War, the Commonwealth, and the early Restoration, was rather difficult to get through. The book really takes off in the final chapter, in which Schama explores the problems and contradictions of Britain’s imperial destiny. With consummate irony he describes the way in which British orators …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2014/12/31/a-history-of-britain-volume-ii-the-wars-of-the-british-1603-1776-by-simon-schama/

Burmese Days by George Orwell

This book deals with many important and socially relevant issues, such as racism, imperialism, colonialism, and the White Man’s Burden. Unfortunately, these important issues fail to compensate for the fact that this is an exceedingly dull story. There were parts of this book that made me feel profoundly disgusted, but other than that it left …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2012/12/10/burmese-days-by-george-orwell/