In this impressively researched and always entertaining book, the esteemed British historian Denis Judd analyzes the imperial experience from the American Revolution to the present day. He examines the ways in which Empire affected both rulers and ruled, and the roles of significant personalities - from Queen Victoria to Nelson Mandela, Cecil Rhodes to Jomo Kenyatta, Joseph Chamberlain to Mahatma Gandhi. What was so special about the "special relationship" between Britain and the United States?

Did the maintenance of the Empire artificially prolong Britain's Great Power status, camouflaging economic and national decline? Did it encourage chauvinistic, even racist, attitudes? Were subjects better off under the British than they would have been under their own elites and leaders? What was the difference between exploitation and development? In the end, what does the balance sheet of Empire look like?