American Empire: A Global History

by A.G. Hopkins

A new history of the United States that turns American exceptionalism on its head

American Empire is a panoramic work of scholarship that presents a bold new global perspective on the history of the United States. Drawing on his expertise in economic history and the imperial histories of Britain and Europe, A. G. Hopkins takes readers from the colonial era to today to show how, far from diverging, the United States and Western Europe followed similar trajectories throughout this long period, and how America's dependency on Britain and Europe extended much later into the nineteenth century than previously understood.

In a sweeping narrative spanning three centuries, Hopkins describes how the revolt of the mainland colonies was the product of a crisis that afflicted the imperial states of Europe generally, and how the history of the American republic between 1783 and 1865 was a response not to the termination of British influence but to its continued expansion. He traces how the creation of a U.S. industrial nation-state after the Civil War paralleled developments in Western Europe, fostered similar destabilizing influences, and found an outlet in imperialism through the acquisition of an insular empire in the Caribbean and Pacific. The period of colonial rule that followed reflected the history of the European empires in its ideological justifications, economic relations, and administrative principles. After 1945, a profound shift in the character of globalization brought the age of the great territorial empires to an end.

American Empire goes beyond the myth of American exceptionalism to place the United States within the wider context of the global historical forces that shaped the Western empires and the world.

Genres: History, American History, Nonfiction, Politics, American, International Relations, United States

980 pages, Hardcover

First published February 20, 2018

About the author

A. G. Hopkins is Emeritus Smuts Professor of Commonwealth History at the University of Cambridge and former Walter Prescott Webb Chair in History at the University of Texas at Austin.

Reviews

[armin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is one of the sexiest books I have ever read!

[Rapidreader · Rating 2 out of 5]

I gave up after about a third of this incredibly (and unnecessarily long) book that reads more like a long-winded rant (at history, the past, and other historians) than a historical case. Despite its length, it does not offer much new in terms of fresh evidence or perspective. The argument, that the U.S. is the heir to the British Empire, is neither challenging nor especially inciteful, and it could have been stated in about a quarter of the space.

[Abby Morris · Rating 2 out of 5]

i read about 45% of this book but considering it’s like 40 trillion pages of nonsense i think it’s fair to put it on my good reads. can you tell that all i do in my classes is read long winded books whose thesis is above my head and i feel like there might not be an end in sight to these wordy disgraces to literature

[Rand Lemley · Rating 5 out of 5]

the American history book we should have read in high school. fascinatingly told through zoomed in portraits of little known characters and zoomed out dissection of economics and politics within their temporal context.

[George Melhuish · Rating 4 out of 5]

nice study of economic history and intertwined imperialisms. just be the financial hegemon bro

[Peter Loftus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing.

[Kevin Moynihan · Rating 5 out of 5]

While not in agreement with author’s deeply cynical views, enjoyed the book nonetheless. Helps one think long term, which can be interesting. Almost 200 pages of notes is epic. Enjoyed the insights here as much as the narrative. He’s a big Alan Taylor and Louis A Perez Jr. fan…

[Mills College Library]

325.373 H7932 2018