Wars of Empire

Published by Cassell,History of Warfare,  2000, hardcover, illustrated, index, 223 pages, condition: new.

Across the globe, the 19th century signaled the high renaissance of Western Imperialism, with England, France, and other European nations ruling more and more territory. With all their power, it may have seemed that the Europeans pressed forward unchecked, but it was not native militias often defeated those who would possess their homelands, sometimes quite spectacularly. Maintaining control of overseas empires began to put an enormous strain on the home economies of all imperial powers--and when the Great War loomed, they looked increasingly fragile. From the great African land rush and the Russian advance over Central Asia to British expansion and American imperialism, this gripping story, told by one of the world's great experts on the subject, captures civilizations clashing and fighting between peoples of radically different mentalities, political organizations, and contrasting technological capabilities..

Part of the Cassell History of Warfare military history series originally published in the late nineties and early 21st century. Each book was written by a historian who was/is considered to be an expert in their respective field (WWI aviation, Napoleonic Wars, Thirty Years War, Roman Warfare, American Civil War etc.) and overseen by executive editor John Keegan. The books are loaded with illustrations and are intended to be surveys of the subject matter with some analysis thrown in. Intended for the layman and Freshman college student it seems. However I own several of the books and I enjoy them. Like most people there are areas of history that interest me more than others. For those interest I own dozens of books that provide in-depth coverage (WWII, WWI, Korean War, Roman Warfare, U.S. Civil War), but I don't necessarily want to buy heavy (and expensive) tomes on seventeenth century naval warfare or Bronze Age warfare when those topics are of mild interest for me only.

I like Professor Porch's work. He focuses on French military history and the French colonial experience in Africa - with a slant towards the military aspect. As a result he was perfectly suited to write a book about the spread of the European Empires in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. "Wars of Empire" is a comprehensive look at the evolution of European Imperialism from the early days of commerce to governmental policy (a few campaigns and wars are covered, but just the hughlights due to the compactness of the book) and finally the end of the empires. The final chapter (written in 1999/2000) argues that imperialism is still around though now seen as humanitarian/nation-building/ counter-terrorist/peace-keeping operations. It is Professor Porch's contention that what is going on now isn't so much a product of a "new world order" but simply a resurrection of the "old world order" that was temporarily suspended by the Cold War. This is a organized and efficient little primer that is useful and informative.