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jhg1995's review
challenging
informative
reflective
4.5
I was expecting a deep dive into British military history and a comprehensive list of countries Britain invaded and while this didn't totally live up to expectations, I still kinda like it because I'm into this topic.
coffeefrog22's review
informative
fast-paced
2.0
A bit of a letdown tbh. I liked how comprehensive this book is, and it's sometimes fun to flick through to random countries to see what the British empire did there - but the author's classification for "invasion" is really, really vague. Privateers landing on a beach in Brazil in the 1500s isn't really an invasion, you know?
It's also a pretty jingoistic book, unsurprisingly. Slave traders get acknowledged when talking about British colonies in Africa and the Caribbean, but only very briefly - and always followed by a "...BUT THEN THE BRITISH FREED THEM" disclaimer. Like why do you think the British empire colonised half the Carribbean, you can't just skip over these things!!!
It's also a pretty jingoistic book, unsurprisingly. Slave traders get acknowledged when talking about British colonies in Africa and the Caribbean, but only very briefly - and always followed by a "...BUT THEN THE BRITISH FREED THEM" disclaimer. Like why do you think the British empire colonised half the Carribbean, you can't just skip over these things!!!
prof_shoff's review
3.0
Although he does tend to leave you hanging at times, Laycock offers an interesting mishmash of facts, observations and dry asides about the British Empire’s quest to be everywhere.
lorees_reading_nook's review
4.0
This book provides a brief look at all the countries in the world invaded by Great Britain.
leguma's review
1.0
When I saw the title of this book I thought it'd be about the reasons for invading various countries and the consequences of the invasions. Well, I was wrong. It's about random people that invaded random countries (as the countries are listed alphabetically, which sounds ridiculous, but it is just as well for the ridiculous approach of the book).
Also, the author mentions in the foreword that he doesn't want to pass any moral judgment on the invasions. He managed that splendidly - if anything, he's been proud about them.
Also, the author mentions in the foreword that he doesn't want to pass any moral judgment on the invasions. He managed that splendidly - if anything, he's been proud about them.
jamescridland's review
2.0
This is what my grandmother would probably call a "loo book". It's a very short chapter on every country that the UK has invaded: how we invaded it, what happened, and (in most cases) when we lost interest in it. As such, it's rather bitty, isn't a good long read, and is one of those books best left in the bathroom for a quick chapter while you, you know, need something to read. But we've Facebook for that these days, haven't we? I'm dipping into this from time to time, but it's not one I plan to finish any year soon.
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