Briefing note: Empire by Jeremy Paxman

“We think we know what the British Empire did to the world. But what did it do to us?” asks Jeremy Paxman in Empire: What Ruling the World did to the British, the tie-in book to his forthcoming TV series.

Paxman’s aim is to look at how the empire shaped Britain, tracing its influence in everything from to the food we eat and the sports we play, to the way we travel and the way we trade.

What are the critics saying?

Reviewers eager to stick their knives into a wistful paean for colonialism, or a guilt-ridden apologia, were disappointed. Paxman’s book – as you would hope from a BBC production – is admirably balanced. All reviews said pretty much the same thing: this is an intelligent, well-written and entertaining introduction to the British empire, but one that says nothing new and fails to delve beneath the surface. Come on, what were they expecting?

Some choice insights…