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Article: Myths of empire
- Article from:
- New Statesman
- Article date:
- November 12, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright New Statesman Ltd. Nov 12, 2007. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Myths of empire Jonathan Wright God and Gold: Britain, America and the Making of the Modern World Walter Russell Mead Atlantic, 320pp, £25
For historians, a litde intellectual playfulness isn't a crime. Looking for parallels between, say, the 16 th and 21st centuries is absolutely fine, as is searching for grand historical patterns. The trouble starts when an author tries to fit a complex historical process into a neat-and-tidy ahistorical design. Regrettably, this is precisely what Walter Russell Mead has achieved.
In his account of why and how Britain and America have won so many military, political and economic victories over the past 500 years, there is little indication that the ...