The Decline and Fall of the British Empire, 1781-1997

AftertheAmericanRevolution,theBritishEmpireappearedtobedoomed.Yetitgrewtobecomethegreatest,mostdiverseempiretheworldhadseen.Then,withinageneration,themightystructurecollapsed,arapiddemisethatleftanarrayofdependenciesandacontestedlegacy:atbestasportingspirit,alegalcodeandanear-universallanguage;atworst,failedstatesandinternecinestrife.TheDeclineandFalloftheBritishEmpirecoversavastcanvas,whichBrendonfillswithvividparticulars,frombrieflivestotellinganecdotestocomicepisodestosymbolicmoments.