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ovvlish's review against another edition
4.0
A thought-provoking volume on the needs of imperial history to move beyond the whiggish long narrative arc of British imperialism that dominates the historiography currently. There is a thesis, one that bears further examining, but this book is primarily a call for further scholarship and for, the way Burton phrases it, a paradigm shift, illustrated with copious examples from primary and secondary sources.
spb3's review against another edition
2.0
I really wanted to like this book. it has so much potential in terms of argument but it is just not well written. Page-long paragraphs and chapters that just don't end cloud good research and an obviously well-read author.
Perhaps Burton has a point that the trouble with British imperial histories is that they are not written with dissent and disruption in the lead. Yet, so long as a book is as inaccessible as this one, it doesn't really matter what is in the lead.
Perhaps Burton has a point that the trouble with British imperial histories is that they are not written with dissent and disruption in the lead. Yet, so long as a book is as inaccessible as this one, it doesn't really matter what is in the lead.
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