The Lion's Share (4th Edition)

Rating:
Summary: A good introduction to British colonial history
Review: "The Lion's Share" is one of the books which enabled me best to acquire the necessary background knowledge for the writing of my Master's dissertation (the subject was: The Failure of the Integration Process of Malta within the United Kingdom: 1955-1958)

Rating:
Summary: Big subject is well compressed!
Review: British imperialism is too big a subject for a 400 odd page book. But Bernard Porter compressed it into this small book, which looks successful to me. This book would be very helpful to those who would study modern history from now on. But it would be also helpful to those who already have some knowledge about modern history in that the author closely examined the relationship between British Imperialism and British Economy. Because my country Korea was once a victim of Japanese Imperialism, I never doubted before that imperialism is just a method of red-in-tooth-and-claw capitalism. Now I learned that things are not that simple. The author says late 19th-century British Imperialism was both capitalist and anti-capitalist at one and the same time, which broadened my scope of understanding. Though imperialism contributed to British economic decline, it also protected its citizens from red-in-tooth-and-claw capitalism.

Rating:
Summary: Good to see an old friend updated!
Review: I first read Lion's Share, when I was doing my Honours History at Stirling Unversity. I really enjoyed this book, it was a good read, as well as giving a good coverage of this very important period of history and its legacy. It helped to put the history of the British Empire in context, to see its both good and bad aspects, as part of the larger picture of European Imperialism.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent survey and a great read.
Review: I have read more than a few books about the British Empire, and this is one of the best. The genre's more readable books, like James Morris's Pax Britannica trilogy and Denis Judd's Empire, tend to be too episodic for a good academic survey. Bernard Porter's The Lion's Share, however, presents a comprehensive, linear narrative that still manages to be consistently readable. I return to this book frequently for both reference and leisure-reading. My only complaint is that the recent edition's cover looks too much like a textbook's, and will probably discourage bookstore browsers from discovering its pleasures.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent survey and a great read.
Review: I have read more than a few books about the British Empire, and this is one of the best. The genre's more readable books, like James Morris's Pax Britannica trilogy and Denis Judd's Empire, tend to be too episodic for a good academic survey. Bernard Porter's The Lion's Share, however, presents a comprehensive, linear narrative that still manages to be consistently readable. I return to this book frequently for both reference and leisure-reading. My only complaint is that the recent edition's cover looks too much like a textbook's, and will probably discourage bookstore browsers from discovering its pleasures.