LAWRENCE JAMES

A genuinely original biography of Churchill, focusing on his contradictory and lifelong relationship with the British Empire.A superb history of a memorable subject Andrew Roberts, bestselling author of CHURCHILL: WALKING WITH DESTINYOne of our finest narrative historians, and journalist for the SUNDAY TIMES and LITERARY REVIEW, Lawrence James, has written a genuinely new biography of Winston Churchill, set within a fully detailed historical context, but solely focusing on his relationship with the British Empire. As a young army officer in the late 19th century, Churchills first experience of the Empire was serving in conflicts in India, South Africa and the Sudan. His attitude towards the Empire at the time was the stereotypical Victorian paternalistic approach - a combination of feeling responsible and feeling superior. Conscious even then of his political career ahead, Churchills natural benevolence towards the Empire was occasionally overruled for political reasons, and he found himself reluctantly supporting - or at least not publicly condemning - British atrocities.As a politician he consistently relied on the Empire for support during crises, but was angered by any demands for nationalisation. He held what many would regard today as racist views, in that he felt that some nationalities were superior to others, but he didnt regard those positions as fixed. His (some might say obsequious) relationship with America reflected that view. America was a former colony where the natives had become worthy to rule themselves, but - he felt - still had that tie to Britain. Thus he overlooked the frequently expressed American view that the Empire was a hangover from a bygone era of colonisation, and reflected poorly on Britains ability to conduct herself as a political power in the current world order.This outmoded attitude was one of the reasons the British voters rejected him after a Second World War in which - it was universally felt - he had led the country brilliantly. His attitude remained Victorian in a world that was shaping up very differently. However, it would be a mistake to consider Churchill merely as an anachronistic soldier. He grasped the problems of the Cold War immediately, believing that immature nations prematurely given independence would be more likely to be sucked into the vortex of Communism. This view chimed with American foreign policy, and made the Americans rather more pragmatic about their demands for self-governance for Empire countries.Lawrence James has written a fascinating portrait of an endlessly interesting statesman - and one that includes tantalising vignettes about his penchants for silk underwear and champagne.

A obra fundamental para compreender a formação da África Moderna. Durante muitos séculos, as potências europeias cobiçaram as riquezas africanas. Recorrendo à força e astúcia, Inglaterra, França, Esp

In this compelling history of the men and ideas that radically changed the course of world history, Lawrence James investigates and analyses how, within a hundred years, Europeans persuaded and coerced Africa into becoming a subordinate part of the modern world. His narrative is laced with the experiences of participants and onlookers and introduces the men and women who, for better or worse, stamped their wills on Africa. The continent was a magnet for the high-minded, the philanthropic, the unscrupulous and the insane. Visionary pro-consuls rubbed shoulders with missionaries, explorers, soldiers, adventurers, engineers, big-game hunters, entrepreneurs and physicians. Between 1830 and 1945, Britain, France, Belgium, Germany, Portugal, Italy and the United States exported their languages, laws, culture, religions, scientific and technical knowledge and economic systems to Africa. The colonial powers imposed administrations designed to bring stability and peace to a continent that seemed to lack both. The justification for occupation was emancipation from slavery - and the common assumption that late nineteenth-century Europe was the summit of civilisation. By 1945 a transformed continent was preparing to take charge of its own affairs, a process of decolonisation that took a mere twenty or so years. Yet there remained areas where European influence was limited (Liberia, Abyssinia). Through inertia and a desire for a quiet time, Africas new masters left much undisturbed, and so this magnificent history also pauses to ask: what did not happen and why?

Napoleon warned Let China sleep; when she wakes, she will shake the world. Lawrence Jamess magisterial history analyses the relationship between Britain and China between the beginning of the Opium Wars in 1839 and the transfer of power in Hong Kong in 1997. THE LION AND THE DRAGON reveals the part that Britain played in the awakening of China, then covers relations between the two countries during the period when an aroused China did indeed shake the world. Lawrence James also follows the parallel trajectories of four competitive empires - the British, the Chinese, the Russian and the Japanese - during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and then the fortunes of a fifth imperial power, the United States. Successive British governments saw China as a source of wealth which needed to be protected. Local objections were seen off by force (the Opium wars of 1839-42, 1856-7 and 1859-60) whose results proved that the Qing emperors could not protect their country. Indian troops were deployed in each campaign and manned Britains small garrisons in Hong Kong, Shanghai and other Treaty ports. Yet Britain never sought to make China into another India. Rather it allowed the emperors and their officials to govern, so long as they were docile and amenable to British needs. Paramount were the internal stability and fiscal responsibility that were the lubricants of trade. A unified nation with economic and military muscle, and aware of its distant past as one of the great nations of the world, has been intent on reversing her recent history. Lawrence James vividly chronicles a time when this huge nations divisions encouraged foreigners to treat her as a treasure-house to be plundered at will. This warning from history explains why Chinas present rulers brook neither dissent nor popular unrest.

A compelling and entertaining history of the British middle classWonderfulFinancial TimesA magisterial, sweeping historyHeraldAn enchanting compendiumTLSFull of fascinating quotations and figuresLiterary ReviewA rollicking, affectionate rompThe TimesGripping and illuminatingSpectatorThis is the story of the great powerhouse of British history - the middle class. The death of feudalism, the advancement of democracy, the spread of literacy, the coming of the industrial and sexual revolutions, the development of mass media - the middle class is never far away, pushing for change, engaging in philanthropy, while always mindful to protect its own interests.In this account, renowned historian Lawrence James reveals a group so familiar to many of us yet so oftenmisunderstood - disparate and constantly changing, with a materialism and hunger for advancement that are a chronicle of Britains evolution.

This is the brilliantly told story of one of the wonders of the modern world - how in less than a hundred years the British made themselves masters of India. They ruled it for another hundred, departing in 1947, leaving behind the independent states of India and Pakistan. British rule taught Indians to see themselves as Indians and its benefits included railways, hospitals, law and a universal language. But the Raj, outwardly so monolithic and magnificent, was always precarious. Its masters knew that it rested ultimately on the goodwill of Indians. This is a new look at a subject rich in incident and character; the India of the Raj was that of Clive, Kipling, Curzon and Gandhi and a host of lesser known others. RAJ will provoke debate, for it sheds new light on Mountbatten and the events of 1946-47 which ended an exercise in benign autocracy and an experiment in altruism.