Customer Reviews

History of the English Speaking Peoples Since 1900

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I have just now finished Andrew Roberts' magisterial "History of the English-Speaking Peoples" and I can say without reservation that I have not felt so exhilarated by a history book since first closing the cover on Paul Johnson's "Modern Times" 24 years ago.

Henry Luce said that the 20th century would be "the American Century." It would be more accurate to call it "the Anglosphere Century." Locked arm in arm, and not without squabbles and occasional bad feeling, the English-speaking peoples cam together in the 20th century to repel the assault on civilization by what can only be described as barbarism in four of its modern forms: Prussian militarism (twice), Communism, and now, Islamo-fascism. Well, three of them have been seen off, anyway. The fourth, we shall see.

Roberts demonstrates decisively that no other possible correlation of forces could have accomplished these worthy goals. The English-speaking world's long history of government by consent, public audit of government performance, an impartial judiciary, and general sense of fair play gave it enormous advantages over the supposed "efficiency" of the Germans, the Soviets' ruthlessness, and (we all must hope) Osama bin Laden's frightfulness.

And yes, Roberts has a point of view. He is unabashedly pro-free enterprise, pro-defense, worships Winston Churchill and even has some kind words to say about George W. Bush. All of this, particularly the latter, has caused many, including most of the loopier "reviewers" on this page - few if any of whom, I venture to say, bothered to actually read it - to go completely 'round the bend.

Look, if what you want to keep you warm at night is a book that will tell you it's all Bush/Blair's fault and Al Qaeda will disappear like a soap bubble at noon on Jan. 20, 2009, then bookstore shelves are groaning with titles awaiting you. But if you want something that is going to put the current struggle into context, and shows how we have won before against far more formidible odds than we face today, then this one is for you.

Reviewers who've disparaged this author refuse to accept the objective facts discussed in his book and the inevitable conclusion that arises from these facts: uniquely among great powers, the US and Britain have mostly been a force for good in the world. Simply compare, as the author does, the overall progress and freedom of the American sphere during the Cold War to the terror and privation of the Soviet bloc. Or the fact that the legacy of Britain's Empire is, predominantly, a series of countries with freely-elected parliaments (versus the blood-thirty dictatorships that have taken root in France's ex-colonies). Or recall the genocides comitted over the years by other world powers (Russia, Germany, Japan, China, Turkey, etc.). Unless you're incurably hostile to democracy and capitalism (capitalism being the economic manifestation of democracy), or to the use of military force to defend democracy against fascists (of any stripe or religion), this book will resonate with you.

A review has appeared in "TCS Daily" that makes me think the author gives this title five stars,because of this text:

"It takes a certain amount of chutzpah to write a book that explicitly picks up where Nobel Prize winner Winston Churchill's famous History of the English-Speaking Peoples left off. In a provocative new book, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples Since 1900 (HarperCollins, 2007), however, British historian Andrew Roberts largely succeeds in pulling off that daring stunt."

and states:

"Indeed, just as Churchill's History was intended to rally the Anglosphere in the early days of the struggle against Communism, Roberts' intent self-evidently is to rally the Anglosphere against Islamofascism."

Well worth reading if you are interested in buying the book:

[...]

This book is admittingly imperfect. Like the revisionist histories he refutes, the author does not develop his thesis so much as prove it. But unlike all those "post-colonial" histories that gave us two generations of feeble and trivial misinterpretations guided by self-loathing and misplaced guilt, Roberts gives us a genuine narrative in the grand tradition - or tries to.

Roberts' literary shortcomings should not completely eclipse the validity of its thesis: the English-speaking world since 1900 has been, when all the chips are counted, a monumentally positive force for human good. The level of economic success required to produce a typical New Yorker is vindication enough: i.e. someone completely beholden to material wealth, rarified and removed from nature, working on abstract projects, unable to fix a leaky faucet; the recipient of tremendous blood sacrifices and military/technological might who nevertheless believes America is essentially "rascist," Bush a "fascist," capitalism and business "evil," global warming "real," etc. The existence of such a being, and our regimes' ability to absorb so, so much internal criticism and self-reflection and hucksterism, point to the uniqueness and success of the Anglo-American project. At this level, most hate is envy.

A refreshingly unapologetic commentary on the historically very positive impact of the English Speaking Peoples on world affairs in the last century or so. A tonic for those of us who reject the total cynicism, negativism and defeatism of so many commentators and intellectuals present even in our own societies. Hard to put down. Highly recommended.

This is an unapologetic defense of British and American cooperative foreign policy (Suez excepted) and a celebration of their many technical, scientific, political, economic and artistic contributions to human and world progress in the 20th century. It is an antidote to the currently fashionable Zinn/Chomsky/Etc. revisionist indictment of those countries. As many of these reviews illustrate, its message is anathema to the left wing elites (and their fellow travelers and dupes). But it is well worth the time of anyone open minded enough to consider the merits of the author's arguments and conclusions.

Roberts is clearly "conservative" and doesn't try to hide his unabashed pride and admiration for Britian, America and the other English-Speaking Peoples, but it's a bias based on fact and reason. While certainly not perfect, these countries and their values are chiefly responsible for what is best in the world today. But for their promotion of freedom and democracy and opposition to despotism and brutality, things would be very much worse across the globe.

It's true that the narrative is somewhat disjointed and occasionally inaccurate (e.g. his assertion that the New Deal "worked"), but these are not major flaws and are inevitable in any attempt to squeeze a century of history for several nations into a few hundred pages.

This 648 page book is a synopsis of historical events which have had impact by the English speaking peoples of America, Great Britian, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand from 1900 to present. Major events include WWI, WWII, the Cold War, the Vietnam War, The War on Terror, and the Iraq War. Andrew Roberts is a Londonite and neoconcervative apologist who gives a fresh perspective of these historical events that, unlike liberal revisionist history, portrays the the English speaking people in a light they deserve with recognition of their accomplishments, their sacrifices, their fortitude, their benevolence, and their leadership in protecting the world from fascism, communism, and Islamic radicalism. This refreshing perspective, which is a rare find amongst history books, along with an enticing writing style and brilliant diction made this book very enjoyable. I will frequently reference this work and re-read portions of it. Looking forward to more from this author.

Roberts picks up where Churchill left off. And, he does a pretty good job of it.

Churchill's premise was that the English speaking people were different and their culture was unique. In Churchill's mind the English speaking people have a deeply rooted attachment to liberty and the representative democracies they created are a testament to this.

Roberts writes from the same point of view. Like Churchill, he sees great strength in the unity of the English speaking people, and unlike Churchill he has clear examples of it during the 20th Century.

Roberts brings his own point of view to this work. Of course, Churchill was not known to withold his opinions either. Yet for the modern reader, Roberts' work seems more political. I do not think it is any more political that the Churchill. But the events Churchill deals with are so far removed in time that there is no longer any sense of political partisanship associated with them. Roberts is dealing with subjects that occured within the memory of the reader and so the partisan debates that surrounded some of those events still ring in the ear.

For instance, while we still remember the contested political issues of the Reagan era. The epic battles between Reagan and Tip O'Neill come quickly to mind. We recall our own feelings about those debates. And ROberts weighs in on those issues. Yet, one cannot bring Churchill's work up to date without discussing the many significant events of the 1980's. So this "political" aspect of Roberts' work is quite unavoidable.

Moreover, it strikes me that Roberts' perspective on these issues is just about exactly what one would have expected from Churchill. Does anyone doubt that Churchill would have supported the Reagan defense build up or his willingness to confront the Soviet Union? Or that Churchill would have opposed Britain's entry into the Common Market? But most can importantly anyone doubt that Churchil's theme would have been that during the 20th Century, when the English speaking peoples were united, they were always successful?

Roberts writes well. This is an enjoyable book to read. If he lacks Churchill's ability to turn a phrase that sticks with the reader forever, well, so does everyone else.

I finally got my hands on this book, and I will tell you all that it is glorious. None of the wishy-washy anti-British hollywood diatribe that was force fed to the globe in the nineteen nineties by Hollywood's anti-Protestant elite. If you want a book that tries to justify Irish nationalist baby murderers in Ulster or sympathizes with the claims of the openly fascist Argentine government of the early nineteen eighties, than look somewhere else. It's about time somebody stood up for John Bull and Uncle Sam, and I for one am proud to say this book lays a giant red, white and blue smackdown on all the nay-sayers, or anglophobes who would like to shoot it down.

Furthermore, many of the critics of this book love hyping on the fact that many Americans aren't of English or Scottish or Welsh decent. Well, no, many are not, but I am. My ancestry is Southern, and they got here from England four hundred years ago. This may not be the case for ALL Americans, but it is for those of us who were here making a country before all sorts of Johnny-come-latelies decided to show up and slander the Mother Country with all of their stereotyping and leftist bashing of England's international acheivements. This book does not gloss over the glory of any of the the Sister Nations to which it refers, it does not make apologies or exceptions, and frankly, it is about dang time that a book like this came out. God Bless America and God Bless England.

As an avid long-time reader of American and British history, I found Andrew Roberts' latest book "A History of the English-Speaking Peoples Since 1900" to be a gem of a history book written in a convincing and factual style. Not only are the main events of the 20th and 21st centuries detailed with wit and grace, but so are many fascinating but seldom cited side issues. His approach explains the events of the period in a very illuminating and interesting manner. Roberts' coverage of the major wars of the period, the rise and fall of communism, the low points of the 1970's, and the current problems with Islamic terrorism are outstanding. His presentation of many social and political issues during the period is a valuable reminder of why the English-speaking nations' contributions to the world are so important to civilication. Highly recommended.