The Rise and Fall of the British Empire

By: Patrick N. Allitt, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Patrick N. Allitt

Length: 18 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

What were the forces that thrust the British Empire to its extraordinary position of greatness and then just as powerfully drove it into decline? And why is nearly every nation on earth, in one way or another, the consequence of the British Empire?

In these 36 lectures, Professor Allitt leads you through four centuries of British power, innovation, influence, and, ultimately, diminishment - four profound centuries that literally remade the world and bequeathed the complex global legacy that continues to shape your everyday life. This is a remarkable lecture series; one that will give you fresh insights into world history in a wide range of areas - political, economic, technological, social, and more. And it will also give you a comprehensive overview you won't find offered anywhere else - a context into which you can integrate new knowledge about this country, as well as understand the background of current events in so many other countries that were once part of Britain's empire, from Ireland to China, and in Africa and the Caribbean. Indeed, it seems fair to say that one cannot truly understand the most important aspects of world history without a firm grasp of the history of the British Empire. In giving you that grasp, these lectures draw on a vast range of critical events, riveting personalities, revealing anecdotes, and eloquent quotations.

Compelling, comprehensive, and astonishing in the force of its narrative power, each lecture will give you a refreshing new understanding of what made the British Empire both great in its achievements and vulnerable to its eventual downfall.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2009 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2009 The Great Courses

A real history

This is a course that explores the history of the British Empire without glorification or condemnation, giving a balanced look at both the good and the bad. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Usual great job from the author

I know it's trite, but Allitt really does make history "come alive"! Rather than just a list of names, places and dates, he incorporates British society and culture.

Great presenter

This is very great lecture series and I believe the professor tried to present a very unbiased opinion of the material. I enjoyed listening to these lectures. Everything presented was from the perspective of that period and not by looking back and judging by today's standards, which is a mistake people often make. I probably listen to this again in the future.

Chock full of great information and stories

The lecturer does a great job of covering an enormously complex theme. In addition to the basic history, he includes information from various complementary subjects, ranging from Victorian literature to sports (cricket). The numerous dates, names, places and stories make it a little hard to digest all at once, but at the same time, they are what make the whole book all the more interesting. I'm sure I'll read it at least once or twice more, and probably more after that too.

A Fascinating account of the Colonial British Empire

Professor Allitt gives a broad, detailed account of the rise and decline of the British Empire. Though not strictly chronological, his lectures encompass the history backgrounds of many of the colonial lands, people's, and outstanding individuals and their contributions to the Empire.

It's a lot to get through--but it's worth it!

It took me an embarrassingly long time to finish this audio course, but I found Professor Allitt's lectures to be both engaging and clear. To be fair, I probably only remember about 1% of the material covered, but I sure enjoyed the ride along the way!

Comprehensive history. Nicely structured.

The author has a bias towards the British empire. If you discount that, it is a very good book. The book kept me engaged. Covered many (all) aspects of the empire.

great history of the British empire.

I enjoyed these lectures. they ere very information and very interesting. it tells a great story.

Gotta love the great courses

For a faux intellectual like myself these are very good for sounding smart, and as we all know that's all that matters

Great but not what I expected

The lectures are exceptionally well performed and very informative. I deeply enjoy the fact than instead of taking a stance of the empire being strictly good or bad, it takes a neutral approach that shows both the benefits the British brought and the atrocities they committed.

My only gripe is the lack of British history. I was hoping for a history of The UK and both why and how the empire was created and sustained. It instead focuses entirely on the colonies and how they were run. I learned more about India, Canada and Australia than the U.K. during these lectures. It shows a lot about what the empire was, but very little about the people who ran it in there far off islands.