A new edition of a major historical account of the evolution of American imperialism with a specially commissioned new preface by Eric Hobsbawm.

The invasion and occupation of Iraq have sparked considerable discussion about the nature of American imperialism, but most of it revolves around immediate concerns. This book is rooted in a classical historical approach and is a convincing and compelling analysis of the different phases of American imperialism which has now made it a global hegemon without any serious rivals on the horizon.

Victor Kiernan, one of the world’s most respected historians, has used his nuanced knowledge of history, literature and politics to trace the evolution of the American Empire: accounts of relations between Indians and white settlers, readings of the work of Melville and Whitman, and analysis of the way money and politics became intertwined all find a home here.

Eric Hobsbawm’s preface provides both an insight into his own current thoughts on American imperialism and a valuable introduction to Victor Kiernan’s work. Together, they shed useful light on today’s urgent debates about such issues as the uses and misuses of seemingly unlimited military power, a lack of respect for international agreements, and the right to pre-emptive defense.

“Professor Kiernan of Edinburgh, [is] the most lucid, elegant and cultured Marxist historian . . . There is much about the book which seems to work of bygone days when giants lived, before historians shrank into petty specialists. The achievement is an extraordianary one.” … Owen Dudley Edwards, The Scotsman

“That great Scottish historian of empire.” … Edward Said

V. G. Kiernan is, as Christopher Hill observed, “one of the most versatile of British historians.” A prolific writer, he has published work in areas ranging from Indian history to Marxist politics to Shakespeare. He lives in Edinburgh.

448 pages


Paper
1 84467 522 X
£15 / US$18 / CAN$25