The British Empire. 1784-1939

James Truslow Adams, whose vividly interpretive volumes have made "more Americans read history than any other writer in that field," here tells the story of the rise of the second British Empire from what were considered the ruins of the first. His book begins with the French Revolution and the terrific impact it made on the nations of Europe. The volume ends with the dawn of the Second World War ... In the British Empire, Adams focuses on geographical and political factors which have contributed to the making of this unique and often incomprehensible people. Not since the days of Imperial Rome has any nation had so rich, so eventful and so fascinating a history as the British Empire. It story is here, the story of its triumphs and its defeats, its dark shadows and unhappy episodes; the story of its great men and women in every field of human endeavor and the effect their lives had on the history of the Empire and the world. -- BOOK JACKET (inside flap)