Book Description
About national and international power in the "modern" or Post Renaissance period. Explains how the various powers have risen and fallen over the 5 centuries since the formation of the "new monarchies" in W. Europe.
Customer Reviews:
American Decline - War Spending.......2007-08-31
An absolutely indispensible source book to understand the deline of America to a second rate ex empire. Well written, and loaded with facts of production and distributiion, this is a somewhat "heavy text". Although America's future is not discussed per se, you reach the unavoidable conclusion that our nation, like all failed states in the past, declines and falls when it wastes its production of wealth on war. So it has ever been.
Well argued thesis, although subject to question.......2007-07-03
As Kennedy puts it in his "Introduction," "This is a book about national and international power in the "modern"--that is, post-Renaissance--period. It seeks to trace and to explain how the various great powers have risen and fallen. . . ." And, on the same page:
"The `military conflict' referred to in the book's subtitle is therefore always examined in the context of `economic change.' The triumph of any one Great Power in this period, or the collapse of another, has usually been the consequence of lengthy fighting by its armed forces; but it has also been the consequence of the more or less efficient utilization of the state's productive resources in wartime, and, further in the background, of the way in which that state's economy has been rising or falling, relative to the other leading nations. . . ."
He examines a variety of historical instances in which empires or countries spend more on their empires or expansion than they can afford. Too much expenditure on defense and the military drains the national treasure and wealth and can lead to an erosion in the vitality and power of that society.
Earlier examples of imperial overreach or overstretch include the Hapsburg Empire (1519-1659). From 1660-1815, other examples are adduced. So, too, periods such as 1815-1885, 1885-1918, 1919-1942.
He goes on to examine the bipolar world after World War II (the United States versus the Soviet Union) and the time there following. He is pessimistic about the United States maintaining its dominance. Two decades after the book was written, that fear has not come about. On the other hand, the Soviet Union did suffer from its "overreach" and has not survived as a major power in a bipolar system. Today's Russia is simply not a superpower anymore. Thus, his fear for the American future has not yet come about. Will it? If he is right and the United States overreaches, then we would expect decline. If his view is correct, there is a challenge to American decision makers to make sure that this does not happen. Are they up to the task? As historians might note, we must wait until the future to know.
Thus, while some of his forecasts clearly have not yet come about, he does produce a rich historical analysis of the relationship between the internal characteristics of a society, the international context, and ultimate success or failure. This book is well worth grappling with. . . .
The right idea but..........2007-06-15
A good book for anyone interested in an overview of nation-state history spanning the past 500 years. While definitely taking a macro approach to world history (which any attempt at a world history must take), Kennedy does a very good job in examining two of the very prominent factors that lead to rise of some powers and the subsequent decline of others. These two factors are military, i.e. how various wars and military developments shaped the destines of certain nation-states, and economic, i.e. how trade, manufacturing, and finance all form a base for what a state can and cannot do militarily. The attention given to both these areas is comprehensive and thorough, while at the same the reader is not weighed down by endless statistics, dates, or other numbers. I personally found the economic analysis to be the most insightful part of the book, allowing the lay reader to become acquainted with the complex world of monies that is essential to a complete understanding of the time period and subject covered.
Unfortunately, The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers does not provide enough information to cover the presumptuous title of the book. What is lacking is any kind of social analysis of the various situations that existed in the different nation-states examined. To ignore the underlying social forces in any one nation-state is to ignore the lives and experiences of the people who allowed the states to work, for without the cooperation of the people in fighting the wars, manufacturing the goods, and providing the labor, no state could rise to the status of world power. This is a particularly glaring omission because it is during this period that capitalism develops out of feudalism and becomes the driving force and engine of modern Europe. This economic development and the drastic changes it brought to all aspects of the different societies under examination seems to me to be a crucial factor. Without it we lack an understanding of how the inner mechanics of the societies were changed and used to the governments advantage in acquiring wealth and hence power.
To the authors' credit, he has no illusions about the scope of is book. Indeed his goal is to focus on the two aforementioned areas and leave the others factors for other authors to investigate. Even with this acknowledgement I still felt he book to come up short. The perspective was too telescoped at the apex of power in governments, financial, and trading industries. It must be taken in to account that power was and is acquired from the labor of the people, especially so in the years covered in this book.
All in all, this book provides a good starting point for anyone interested in the subject matter. Although it is a bit dated, published 1987, it has an interesting final chapter concerning the future and the role of the current powers, their decline, and the subsequent rise of new powers to take their place. Hint, hint, the USA is not one of the rising ones. Its always fun to see whether or not an authors forecasts for the future come true. The final chapter may indeed turn out to be the best section given a few decades.
Eye opening take on economic motivations behind the history.......2007-04-03
Guns or Butter is an age old un-attributed quote, but in "The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers" author Paul Kennedy seeks to explore that maxim on a massive scale from 1500 to 2000. Equally massive is the resulting tome which seeks to explore the connection between economic power and military power and the resultant effect upon the growth, maintenance, or decline of a nation's power. In Kennedy's hypothesis military and economic power go hand in hand, making or breaking a nation's ability to project power and in the few instances to become Great Powers. Kennedy analyses what it is that takes a nation to the status of Great Power and, ultimately, what is their undoing. Kennedy sees a direct correlation between Great Powers who overextend themselves, politically, militarily or economically and in some cases both, and the resultant decline in cases of over-reach or in the face of serious threats they may have underestimated. When it comes to Great Power status Kennedy is more concerned with dimensions of power than the spatial dimensions or status dimensions sometimes used to define Great Power status.
"The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers" was a fascinating read, especially to help better understand some of the economic reasons for the failures of Great Powers in the 20th Century and to gain greater insight into what sometimes motivated leaders to make the choices they did. I found it difficult to put down at times as most histories on this era look strictly at the political considerations for particular courses of action rather than the economic concerns. Indeed often times it seems as though most histories are written by political scientists than by economists. Adding this book to the repertoire helps to balance that situation rather smartly, although it does beg the question of why histories incorporate so little economic information.
"The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers" is indeed the tour de force that many of the reviews heralded it as being. Economics is frequently labeled the "dismal science" but when written as well as Kennedy does, it is a gripping and engaging read. In his effort to determine if states can have guns and butter or if it is an either-or proposition the answer is resoundingly clear.
Overtaken By Events.......2007-03-06
"The Rise And Fall Of The Great Powers" by Paul Kennedy. Random House, New York, 1987.
It was 1987, twenty years ago, when this book was first published. I used this book when I was working on my MA in History. The central thesis of Kennedy's book is portrayed explicitly by the book's dust jacket. On that dust jacket, the United Kingdom, represented by John Bull, carrying a Union Jack, is stepping down from the "top of the world", and he is looking back at those who are following. Uncle Sam, carrying the Stars and Stripes, is just about to step down, following John Bull. Directly behind Uncle Sam is a thin, bespectacled fellow in a three piece suit. Since this fellow is carrying the Rising Sun, it is obvious that Mr. Kennedy is proposing the heir-apparent, Japan, for world-dominance.
World events have overtaken Kennedy's book, and these events include, just to mention a few: Einheit Day, the day of unification of Germany, October 3 1990, the demise of communism in Europe and the splintering of the Soviet Union. We have had not one, but two wars in Iraq, and NATO troops are controlling Afghanistan. Today, former members of the communistic empire are clamoring to join the European Union. It has been fifty years since the Treaty of Rome (1957) which is generally recognized as the inception of the European Union. Europe has become the crucible of political and economic change, and is therefore challenging the United States and the economically quiescent Japan for leadership of the world. It is time to revise the "Rise And Fall", and the author should be careful to consider the building of submarine fleets, not only by China, but also by Iran.
Amazon.com
At its peak in the nineteenth century, the British Empire was the largest empire ever known, governing roughly a quarter of the world's population. In Empire, Niall Ferguson explains how "an archipelago of rainy islands... came to rule the world," and examines the costs and consequences, both good and bad, of British imperialism. Though the book's breadth is impressive, it is not intended to be a comprehensive history of the British Empire; rather, Ferguson seeks to glean lessons from this history for future, or present, empires--namely America. Pointing out that the U.S. is both a product of the British Empire as well as an heir to it, he asks whether America--an "empire in denial"--should "seek to shed or to shoulder the imperial load it has inherited." As he points out in this fascinating book, there is compelling evidence for both.
Observing that "the difficulty with the achievements of empire is that they are much more likely to be taken for granted than the sins of empire," Ferguson stresses that the British did do much good for humanity in their quest for domination: promotion of the free movement of goods, capital, and labor and a common rule of law and governance chief among them. "The question is not whether British imperialism was without blemish. It was not. The question is whether there could have been a less bloody path to modernity," he writes. The challenge for the U.S., he argues, is for it to use its undisputed power as a force for positive change in the world and not to fall into some of the same traps as the British before them.
Covering a wide range of topics, including the rise of consumerism (initially fueled by a desire for coffee, tea, tobacco, and sugar), the biggest mass migration in history (20 million emigrants between the early 1600s and the 1950s), the impact of missionaries, the triumph of capitalism, the spread of the English language, and globalization, this is a brilliant synthesis of various topics and an extremely entertaining read. --Shawn Carkonen
Book Description
"A splendid history.... If Americans want to be convinced of the benefits of empire, as well as apprised of its costs, they need merely pick up Ferguson's dazzling book." --Weekly Standard
The British Empire was the largest in all history: the nearest thing to world domination ever achieved. By the eve of World War II, around a quarter of the world's land surface was under some form of British rule. Yet for today's generation, the British Empire seems a Victorian irrelevance. The time is ripe for a reappraisal, and in Empire, Niall Ferguson boldly recasts the British Empire as one of the world's greatest modernizing forces.
An important new work of synthesis and revision, Empire argues that the world we know today is in large measure the product of Britain's Age of Empire. The spread of capitalism, the communications revolution, the notion of humanitarianism, and the institutions of parliamentary democracy-all these can be traced back to the extraordinary expansion of Britain's economy, population, and culture from the seventeenth century until the mid-twentieth. On a vast and vividly colored canvas, Empire shows how the British Empire acted as midwife to modernity.
Displaying the originality and rigor that have made him the brightest light among British historians, Ferguson shows that the story of the Empire is pregnant with lessons for today-in particular for the United States as it stands on the brink of a new era of imperial power, based once again on economic and military supremacy. A dazzling tour de force, Empire is a remarkable reappraisal of the prizes and pitfalls of global empire.
Customer Reviews:
A good place to start, but not end.......2007-09-27
Ferguson's EMPIRE is well-written, like all of his work. It is not a comprehensive look at the details of expansion and conquest--there are other books readily available for that--but instead looks at the empire as a process. Thus, he focuses on key figures and locations, primarily India and Africa. One gets a good sense of who was behind the imperial drive, and what the drive for empire was all about. It is, however, a little bit too "pro-Empire." To be sure, Ferguson acknowledges that imperialism had its nasty side (especially against the Boers). However, we don't get much of the violence and cruelty that characterized British expansion and conquest, which very much should have been included. Also, New Zealand, Canada and Ireland are barely touched on. Its still worth the read for sure, but must be used as a framework around which much else should be read.
A History of the Lion's Den.......2007-08-18
Niall Ferguson, author of other non-fiction hits as "Pity of War", "The Cash Nexus" and 2006's "War of the World" offers a modern analysis of one of the most influential empires in history. An Englishman, Ferguson tackles the history of the British Empire in this layman's volume of 370 pages, rich with illustrations, maps, and photos stretching from empire's reluctant beginnings in the 17th century to the final collapse following WWII. The hardback edition of the book which I read had a textbook quality to it physically, more of a squared geometry, with glossy paper and text layout resemling a history textbook. However, the writing style was definitely not of a textbook. Niall has two great qualities for a history writer that endears him to this layperson - the ability to write history in a witty, conversational fashion, and a penchant for promoting alternative conclusions for historical events, often diametrically opposed to the standard ideas. For example, he rates the British leadership over India as an overall positive thing, without which India would not have quickly risen to the heights it has obtained today, in fact, it may have easily fallen victim to the Japanese empire of WWII. This contrasts with the mainstream view of the freedom movement promoted by Gandhi which eventually ended a repressive, exploitive British rule.
Before reading this book, I had scant knowledge of the history of the British Empire, besides the typical stories of American colonial resistance to British rule, and the dysfunctional relationship of ruler and ruled in Burma detailed by George Orwell in his essay "Shooting an Elephant". I came away from this book with a much more thorough understanding. At its height, it governed about 25% of the world's population and covered about 25% of the world's habitable land. All this was accomplished with a relatively small number of administrators and soldiers. Indeed, the colonial areas supplied large percentages of the Empire's soldiers for small regional conflicts and large wars with other European powers. Niall argues that this was accomplished by the relatively benign rule of the English and an increasingly loosened authoritarian grip, ending in a Commonwealth of states that survives in small form today. Whereas other modern empires, such as Stalin's Soviet Union, Hitler's Reich and Tojo's Japan were ruled by a heavy hand and often brutal tactics, the British were more "hands off", their empire having more of a commercial orientation with occasional digressions into missionary movements and cultural assimilation.
Perhaps the most poignant point of the book was Ferguson's reasoning for the end of the British Empire - after being sapped of money and resources from the first world war, Britain was faced with a stark choice when Hitler began his campaign across Europe - agree to a peace deal with Hitler or lose the empire in a draining fight to the finish. By agreeing to keep out of Hitler's conquest of the European continent, Britain most likely could have kept her vast empire, ironically at it's largest size right when Britain was least capable of protecting it. Ferguson argues that Churchill led England on the more noble path of imperial self-sacrifice for the good of the rest of the world.
Not only did Great Britain pay perhaps the highest price for the defeat of the Axis powers in World War II, she also failed to benefit substantially from the Marshall Plan and IMF/World Bank loans following the war to the extent that those same Axis powers were able to use to their benefit. Another surprise for me was Niall's argument that Britain continued to lose imperial possessions after the war due to the sometimes predatory policies of the US. While the 20th century relationship between the US and Great Britain is often portrayed as one of friendship, Ferguson paints a picture of a US more interested in containing communist expansion at the expense of the British Empire during the Cold War. Through a series of humbling military blunders (such as the Suez military campaign in 1956) and numerous Independence movements among the colonies, British colonial administrators often found themselves presiding over poignant transfer-of-power ceremonies, the British empire steadily disintegrating after the 1940s to today's Commonwealth of a few scattered islands around the world.
Why should we feel sorry for the demise of an empire? Traditionally, empires are seen as evil accumulations of power, enslaving masses of subjects for the benefit of a ruthless ruling people. Niall argues that while this has happened in the long history of civilization, empires are not all evil, and in fact the British empire was in the end a positive presence in the world. Ferguson says that without it, the spread of democracy, capitalism, even the predominance of the English language as the world's business lingua franca would not have happened, or to a much smaller degree.
Throughout the book, comparisons were made between the past British empire with the current "empire" of the United States. This is indeed an intriguing comparison, and in fact is the subject of another of his books- "Colossus - The Rise and Fall of the American Empire".
For those whose interests point in this direction, I can recommend this book as a thoughtful, if at times controversial story of a deceased Empire that left an indelible stamp on the modern world.
What Started out as Survival Mode, Turned into Empire.......2007-07-16
Based on Ferguson's analysis, the growth of British Empire was in many ways serendipity. Starting by building a large private navy, based on privateers (read Pirates) and then expanding it into the British Navy, England originally got into the "Empire Business" as an offshoot of it's plundering of the Spanish and Portuguese New World Empires. Once they got good at attacking the Spanish 'Treasure Fleets' it was just one stop further to taking over some of the territory for 'security' reasons (sound familiar).
They became so good at it that at one point the British Empire ruled over 25% of the total land surface of the earth and the sun never set on the British Empire. At the same time, no other country contained a Navy that could compete with their's or their merchant fleet. For the British the Empire was a money making proposition up until the 20th century. Each of the colonies paid it's own way from trade or investment. It was only after almost bankrupting themselves during the two world wars, that the Empire became a millstone around their neck.
In Ferguson's conclusion, he discusses (rather jingoistically) how in the final analysis, the British brought more to the people of the 'colonies' than they even took from them; even taking into account the death and destruction that was wrought in the name of 'civilization'.
Ferguson seems to have missed three interesting and important points: 1) the British created and then ended the slave trade (though much after it stopped being economically viable), 2) they created the first major drug cartel (forcing China to open itself up to the importation of Opium from India) and, 3) that by bailing out of Africa in the 1960s, they left most of those colonies unready for independence or democracy.
As to the slave trade, many a British (and American) fortune can trace themselves back to a relative who made their money as part of either the trade in slaves or the use of them on the West Indian sugar plantations. Only at the beginning of the nineteenth century did they decide that it was an "unChristian" institution. Planters were fast to learn that it was cheaper to hire slaves as 'seasonal' workers than to take care of them from cradle to grave; because those on these islands had no choice except to go back to Africa.
The Opium War was fought in the middle Eighteenth Century to force China to allow the continued importation of Opium (through Hong Kong) into their country. It was the beginning of the long spiral of Chinese subjugation and the blueprint for how to make money by exporting large amounts of drugs into another country. Today's narco-traffickers learned their lessons well.
Lastly, one of the major problems with the African continent (and this includes the French and Portuguese) was that the colonies that were created were done so on an ad-hoc basis. Except for in a few instances (such as Egypt and Ethiopia), nations and tribes that had been adversaries for generations were lumped together in Colonies. No where did any of the colonial powers prepare for democracy, most were run by the British Colonial Office (with mostly white managers) who left little government structure behind them when they pulled out. In many cases they had raised a small tribe to prominence (because they were Christians, think the Ibo's in Nigeria) which were left with the stigma of collaborators after the British left.
For some reason, the United Nations bought the idea that none of the colonies in Africa should be allowed to break up and seek their own level of comfort in size and composition. It's as if the example of nationalism for the last hundred years in Europe never happened. Almost every country in Europe (except Belgium) is now ethnically homogenized. No one complained when Czechoslavakia had their velvet divorce; and the ethnic cleansing in Yugoslavia differs little from what happened in Poland and East Prussia after WW2.
It's a good read and my only real complaint is about the structure of the book. It's printed like a textbook so that the pages have lots of room for footnotes on the inside columns, but the size of the type is quite small and gets smaller when in quotation so that it can be very tiring to read for long periods. Oh well.
Imperialist who is not completely wrong.......2007-07-11
Good writer. It would be obvious to the reader that the author has a more positive view on British Colonism than most people who grew up in a British colony. That said, being one who came from a British colony myself, I personally think that the writer is not completely biased and I agree with some of his views. I am curious how many people in Britian shares the authors view. In the least, this will be a feel-good book for British to read. For those full of resentment on past colonial history, reading this at least will present a different point of view to you.
Like Imperialism itself, this book is Fun...but Wrong.......2007-07-06
As a professional historian who specializes in European imperialism, I can easily explain why the book was panned by professionals, but popular with amateurs.
Ferguson is, quite simply, a great writer. His anecdotes are apt, his comments witty, and his stories are either dashing or tragic. Great stuff.
But the book is so flawed historically as to be basically useless.
I taught with it once. My students loved it for the first few chapters... but after I pointed out to them the many factual errors and especially, the MAJOR errors of omission that riddle every single chapter.... and then showed how Ferguson's re-enchantment of "empire" not only saturates but slants every single argument in the book...hey quickly lost interest in it. (And understandably so: if you can't trust the author, why waste your time reading the book, no matter how entertaining?)
For an example, read closely his section "Black and White" in the chapter "White Plague". At first glance, it seems to say that British slavery was indeed quite awful, gosh darnit bad, etc. etc. etc. But pore over it more closely, and you'll recognize that he is, in fact, working quite hard to equate the slavery (of Africans) to indentured servitude (of Europeans), both practically and (by extension) morally. (!)
This is, quite simply, wrong and wrong-headed. I can't go into all the reasons here, but trust me: if you are ever reincarnated in the 18th century, and you have the choice of coming back as a black slave or as a white indentured servant, do yourself a big favor: choose indentured servitude.
It is an "apology" of Empire in every sense of the word.
And as a historian, I find it just a bit unethical.
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- European Diplomacy From Louis XIV to the French Revolution
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The Rise of the European Powers, 1679-1793
Jeremy Black
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Customer Reviews:
European Diplomacy From Louis XIV to the French Revolution.......2002-08-30
Black's book recounts the diplomatic history of Europe from 1679 to 1798. He begins this informative book by describing how the Ottoman Empire declined, as the Hapsburg Empire grew stronger. Then he recounts the imperial career of Louis 14 of France and his many wars. Black describes Russia s relations with her neighbors Sweden, Austria, Poland Turkey and Persia in the early eighteenth century.
Black describes how the rising powers of Europe fought wars like the Spanish Succession over party factions, prestige and succession struggles. Black follows the creation and recreation of alliances, but fails to make never-ending dance of re-alignments clear or understandable.
Black concludes with an incisive analysis of diplomacy of the period. He explains how dynastic, especially succession claims were important for the aggrandizement of states. Personal prestige was more important than plans or reasons of state. Natural interests and the balance of power were considered important, but few could identify them. Distrust and disagreements fueled conflict.
Black describes the use of ambassadors and the part that nationalism, religion, and trade played in international relations. He also describes the problems of diplomats, such as bad communications, and interminable factional politics. But Black also mentions the improvements in the definitions of frontiers and accuracy of maps.
Jeremy Black's book is informative but not very readable. Black refers to the rulers of countries only by their first name, making it confusing. There are maps, but they are all at the beginning of the book. There is a bibliography, but it is not annotated. Black has definitely mastered the subject, but is not very clear at writing it.
Book Description
The Battle of Britain saved not only that country from invasion, but also altered the course of the war for the rest of the world.
This remarkable book traces the fortunes of the Royal Air Force and provides a comprehensive account of the Battle of Britain, including day-by-day summaries of the battle. It also includes an appendix of the aircraft used by the RAF and the Luftwaffe with schematic drawings, and a list of all the pilots who flew in the Battle of Britain from July 10th to October 31st 1940.
The authors are military aviation exprerts who have also written among other things, Jane's World Aircraft Recognition Handbook.
Customer Reviews:
The Classic Account of the Battle of Britain.......2006-11-11
"The Narrow Margin", first published in 1961 and periodically updated and reissued since, is the classic account of the Battle of Britain. The defeat by an undermanned British Royal Air Force (RAF) of the German Luftwaffe offensive to gain air superiority over Britain in 1940 likely staved off a German invasion and kept Britain in the war.
Authors Derek Wood and Derek Dempster provide a methodical account of the air battle, beginning with the retooling of the British and German air forces in the 1930's in preparation for conflict. Each side made choices about the types of aircraft they would develop that shape their successes in the Second World War. The second part of the book discusses the Fall of France in 1940 and Britain's frantic preparations after the Dunkirk evacuation to build up the defenses of the home island. Part three is a day by day account of the actual air battles between July and October 1940, tracing the shifting tactics and objectives of the two sides.
This book is a factual account, packed with an excellent selection of photographs, graphics, maps, and appendices. Those readers looking for a romantic account of a few handfulls of embattled British fighter pilots standing off the undefeated might of the Luftwaffe will have other alternatives to this volume, which focuses on the practical necessities of efficient early warning, the comparative values of different aircraft, the availability of trained pilots, and the use of effective tactics. Incidentally, "The Narrow Margin" was the basis for the 1969 movie "The Battle of Britain."
This book is highly recommended to students of the Battle of Britain and the Second World War.
Customer Reviews:
Eye opening view of the economics behind the history.......2007-04-03
Guns or Butter is an age old un-attributed quote, but in "The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers" author Paul Kennedy seeks to explore that maxim on a massive scale from 1500 to 2000. Equally massive is the resulting tome which seeks to explore the connection between economic power and military power and the resultant effect upon the growth, maintenance, or decline of a nation's power. In Kennedy's hypothesis military and economic power go hand in hand, making or breaking a nation's ability to project power and in the few instances to become Great Powers. Kennedy analyses what it is that takes a nation to the status of Great Power and, ultimately, what is their undoing. Kennedy sees a direct correlation between Great Powers who overextend themselves, politically, militarily or economically and in some cases both, and the resultant decline in cases of over-reach or in the face of serious threats they may have underestimated. When it comes to Great Power status Kennedy is more concerned with dimensions of power than the spatial dimensions or status dimensions sometimes used to define Great Power status.
"The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers" was a fascinating read, especially to help better understand some of the economic reasons for the failures of Great Powers in the 20th Century and to gain greater insight into what sometimes motivated leaders to make the choices they did. I found it difficult to put down at times as most histories on this era look strictly at the political considerations for particular courses of action rather than the economic concerns. Indeed often times it seems as though most histories are written by political scientists than by economists. Adding this book to the repertoire helps to balance that situation rather smartly, although it does beg the question of why histories incorporate so little economic information.
"The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers" is indeed the tour de force that many of the reviews heralded it as being. Economics is frequently labeled the "dismal science" but when written as well as Kennedy does, it is a gripping and engaging read. In his effort to determine if states can have guns and butter or if it is an either-or proposition the answer is resoundingly clear.
Customer Reviews:
Superb work by Kennedy.......2006-03-02
First, a couple of notes on earlier reviews. Kennedy wrote this book ten years before Rise and Fall of the Great Powers, not as a compilation afterwards. Second, he doesn't talk about the US Navy because it is not the subject of his book. He is not biased by writing a history of the Royal Navy and sticking to the Royal Navy--the reviewer who imagines the US Navy as so important as to need discussion in a book about the RN is. Third, US monitors were, compared to the broadside ironclads like HMS Warrior being built across the sea, a joke.
The book's strength is in ascribing the interplay of finance, trade, and strategic necessity their rightful place at the center of both British history and the history of the Royal Navy. Britian had the best navy for much of the period 1588-1942 because it needed it, could afford it, and could lavish money on it because it didn't have to simultaneously maintain a large army. What killed the Royal Navy was not just industrial decline, but also the need to create a first-class air force because the navy could no longer defend the metropole on its own. By 1938, the RAF supplanted the RN as the biggest beneficiary of defense spending. That was the point of no return.
The Rise and Fall of British Naval History.......2005-09-26
The book I bought was in excellent shape. The content was interesting enogh. It was required reading for graduate school, so I did not actually choose it as a book to read. Still, not a bad read though.
A reasonable study of the British navy.......2004-09-04
Its a repeat of his earlier theories instead here he links British economics to its naval history. It makes sense as much more then land powers, a naval force depends on technology and economics.
Overall this book is a fair study of the British navy from the period of 1600 to modern times.
Repetition - shame really.......2002-01-02
Kennedy, unfortunately, has extracted from his excelent 'Rise and Fall of the Great Powers' all of the 'bits' relating to the British Empire and expanded it somewhat in relation to the Royal Navy - but not much in the way of 'specialised' input.
I was very disappointed with this.
Single Causitive Theory in Action.......2001-03-11
Paul Kennedy glosses over British naval ascendancy from pre-1600 to 1976. This is essentially an analysis in political economy, not military history. As usual, Kennedy maintains that the British fleet ruled the waves when their trade economy was on the rise (chiefly due to the headstart they got on industrialization) and declined with their relative decline in industrial productivity during 1890-1920. Issues like technological change, leadership or operational mistakes do not figure prominently in this account. The greatest British naval defeat in this period - the temporary loss of naval mastery off Yorktown in 1781, which led to American victory - had nothing to do with economics. Kennedy ignores the US fleet for the most part, such as the technological impact of the Civil War (e.g. the Monitor) and the US triumph in the Spanish-American War. There is a very blatant British bias here.
Kennedy glosses over the various wars between 1600 and 1945 with no new insights or useful analysis. Mahan is trashed, while Mackinder's "heartland" geopolitics are praised. Kennedy's tone almost implies that British naval and industrial decline was inevitable, yet he offers no opinions about what they might have done otherwise. The key challenge for Britain was to match commitments with resources and sustainable forces (the "two war" strategy for dealing with crises in Pacific and Mediterranean in 1930s is similar to current US "2MRC" strategic dilemma). Maps are crude.
Book Description
Revolutions, as much as international war or nationalism, have shaped the development of world politics. In cause, ideology, and consequence they have merited description as a âsixth great powerâ alongside the dominant nations. In Revolution and World Politics Fred Halliday reassesses the role of revolution from the French Revolution to the Iranian Revolution and the collapse of communism.
Halliday begins by tracing the origins and evolution of the modern concept of ârevolutionâ and placing it in historical context. Arguing that revolution is central to any understanding of international relations, he examines the internationalist ideology of revolutionaries who are committed to promoting change elsewhere by exposing revolution. In contrast with the claims of revolutionaries and counterrevolutionaries alike, he sees revolutions both as part of an internationalist social conflict and as a challenge to the system of states. Chapters on the distinct foreign policies of revolutionary states are followed by discussions of war, counterrevolution, and postrevolutionary transformation. The study concludes with a reassessment of the place of revolution within international relations theory and in modern history, drawing out implications for their incidence and character in the twenty-first century.
Students and scholars of international relations, political science, sociology, and history will value this major contribution to understanding worldwide developments in government and society.
Customer Reviews:
Internationalism,the sixth power........2002-03-28
Fred Halliday has written one of the best book on the effects of internationalism on world politics.Highly recommended.
Disappointing, hostile account of revolutions.......2001-07-31
This is a study of the fascinating topics of politics, wars and revolutions. Unfortunately, however, Halliday has produced a dull and schematic book, academic in the worst sense, just another pessimistic lament for the end of history and the end of revolutions.
He attempts to summarise the origins and effects of revolutions from Franceýs 1789 to Iranýs 1979, and to place them in their international contexts. But he slights both the makers and the achievements of every revolution, and neglects those most important facts, that revolution stopped World War One, won World War Two, and has prevented World War Three (so far).
He also tries to analyse the forms of counter-revolution. But he confusingly describes the counter-revolutions of 1989 as revolutions, even though he helpfully provides us with evidence of how catastrophic they have been for workers: their living standards plummeted, as in every East European country (except Poland) Gross Domestic Product fell by 50% between 1989 and 1997, and in the former Soviet Republics by 44%.
...
The books failings derive from Hallidayýs Trotskyism. In this book, he consistently uses Trotskyýs metaphysical theory of ýcombined and uneven developmentý. Halliday was on the New Left Reviewýs editorial board, and he still promotes their self-flattering beliefs that intellectuals are the vanguard of progress, and that the writings of the European oppositional theorists are the only true Marxism. They all believe that the ruling class dominates the mind of the British working class, which can only avoid incorporation into the state if it acknowledges the leadership of those who understand the works of these theorists. Yet somehow, the British working class has always managed to make its own decisions, keep its independence of mind and escape incorporation.
Customer Reviews:
Eye opening take on economic motivations behind the history.......2007-04-03
Guns or Butter is an age old un-attributed quote, but in "The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers" author Paul Kennedy seeks to explore that maxim on a massive scale from 1500 to 2000. Equally massive is the resulting tome which seeks to explore the connection between economic power and military power and the resultant effect upon the growth, maintenance, or decline of a nation's power. In Kennedy's hypothesis military and economic power go hand in hand, making or breaking a nation's ability to project power and in the few instances to become Great Powers. Kennedy analyses what it is that takes a nation to the status of Great Power and, ultimately, what is their undoing. Kennedy sees a direct correlation between Great Powers who overextend themselves, politically, militarily or economically and in some cases both, and the resultant decline in cases of over-reach or in the face of serious threats they may have underestimated. When it comes to Great Power status Kennedy is more concerned with dimensions of power than the spatial dimensions or status dimensions sometimes used to define Great Power status.
"The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers" was a fascinating read, especially to help better understand some of the economic reasons for the failures of Great Powers in the 20th Century and to gain greater insight into what sometimes motivated leaders to make the choices they did. I found it difficult to put down at times as most histories on this era look strictly at the political considerations for particular courses of action rather than the economic concerns. Indeed often times it seems as though most histories are written by political scientists than by economists. Adding this book to the repertoire helps to balance that situation rather smartly, although it does beg the question of why histories incorporate so little economic information.
"The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers" is indeed the tour de force that many of the reviews heralded it as being. Economics is frequently labeled the "dismal science" but when written as well as Kennedy does, it is a gripping and engaging read. In his effort to determine if states can have guns and butter or if it is an either-or proposition the answer is resoundingly clear.
Customer Reviews:
Essential reading for all eighteenth-century historians.......2000-04-29
Despite its age, The Rise of the Great Powers remains one of the best overviews of eighteenth-century European diplomatic history. Detailed enough for students, yet simple enough for those with no prior knowledge of the period, it charts the development of the European 'balance of power' from the end of the Thirty Years' War to the beginning of the Pax Britainica. The depth of McKay and Scott's uderstanding of such a complex subject is awesome, and they combine to produce a thoroughly enjoyable and informative book.
Average customer rating:
- Pretty good study of a not-much-noticed Irish peerage
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White Knights, Dark Earls: The Rise and Fall of an Anglo-Irish Dynasty
Bill Power
Manufacturer: Collins Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1898256942 |
Customer Reviews:
Pretty good study of a not-much-noticed Irish peerage.......2006-03-27
The White Knights were a dynasty of Norman overlords who ruled in medieval Munster and were chiefs of the FitzGibbons, the senior cadet branch of the FitzGerald family, which included the earls of Desmond and Kildare. Edmund FitzGibbon, a renegade and the 11th and effectively last White Knight, died in 1608 with no surviving sons; his lands and authority passed to a niece, and through her marriage, eventually to Sir John King, a Cromwellian captain who was created Baron Kingston in 1660. A descendant in a collateral line, who became baronets, was created Earl and the two lines rejoined in the person of George King, the 3rd earl. Known as "Big George," he was something of a feudal throwback. In 1823, he built Mitchelstown Castle, the largest neo-Gothic mansion in Ireland. The Castle survived the Famine and the land wars of the 188os, but was finally looted and burned by the occupying Republican army in 1922 as they retreated from government troops. The author is largely concerned with the house itself and with the great and famous who visited and worked there, but there is also a great deal of heavily footnoted information on the King family from its origins to the present day.
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