Empire: How Britain Made the Modern World

Niall Ferguson tackles the question of how Britain came to rule such vast tracts of the world and sets out the evidence for judging whether the British Empire was a Good Thing or a Bad Thing. From 17th century English pirates plundering the European empires, to the legacy of empire in the world today, he describes the forces of commerce, migration, religion, government and global finance that drove the British Empire and the 20th century wars which were its undoing.