Books like this are always difficult to review because, by their nature, they are not written for the academic reviewer. The latter, if well-informed, as they should be, will know that the imperial context, causes, course, and consequences of the American Revolution / Rebellion / War of Independence / First Civil War is very well-established in the scholarly literature, notably with the work of Peter Marshall, and also in some of the popular treatments, as with the recent book by Rick Atkinson. The academic reviewer will know that much of the discussion and historiography in this book badly needs updating as with the Mackesy/Shy debate over whether the British could have won. We are told it has ‘largely escaped notice’, which is rubbish. The emphasis on the strength of Loyalism is scarcely new, nor is discussion of the avoidance of revolution in most of the Empire, notably Ireland. Indeed, there is a clear contrast there with the events of 1798.

The specialist will also wonder about the stark confidence shown in the statements about British foreign policy, with the term ‘arrogant’ better used to explain the authors than British ministers acutely aware of the problems posed by an interventionist foreign policy. Since we are being told about the international context, we need a far better informed account of French policy. And so on, alas.

But for the general reading public, there is much to enjoy in terms of clarity, prose style, and an adroit shaping of a complex period. Possibly, though the cost is too great and more complexity would be welcome. Certainly so in terms of comparisons that could be drawn with other revolutions and rebellions in the period 1763-1830.

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Our Reviewer: Jeremy Black, Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Exeter, is a Senior Fellow of the Center for the Study of America and the West at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. He is the author of an impressive number of works in history and international affairs, frequently demonstrating unique interactions and trends among events, including The Great War and the Making of the Modern World, Combined Operations: A Global History of Amphibious and Airborne Warfare, and The War of 1812 in the Age of Napoleon. Works he has previously reviewed here include The Boundless Sea, On a Knife Edge. How Germany Lost the First World War, Meat Grinder: The Battles for the Rzhev Salient, Military History for the Modern Strategist, Tempest: The Royal Navy and the Age of Revolutions, Firepower: How Weapons Shaped Warfare, Sing As We Go: Britain Between the Wars, Maritime Power and the Power of Money in Louis XIV’s France, Empireworld: How British Imperialism Shaped the Globe, Why War?, Seapower in the Post-Modern World, Mobility and Coercion in an Age of Wars and Revolutions, Augustus the Strong, Military History for the Modern Strategist, The Great Siege of Malta, Hitler’s Fatal Miscalculation, Superpower Britain, Josephine Baker’s Secret War, Captives and Companions. A History of Slavery and the Slave Trade in the Islamic World, War and Power: Who Wins Wars—and Why, The Pacific’s New Navies, and No More Napoleons.

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Note: Republic and Empire is also available in e-editions.

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