America: The New Imperialism: From White Settlement to World Hegemony, New Edition

by Victor G. Kiernan, Eric J. Hobsbawm

The invasion and occupation of Iraq have sparked considerable discussion about the nature of American imperialism, but most of it is focused on the short term. The classical historical approach of this book provides a convincing and compelling analysis of the different phases of American imperialism, which have now led to America becoming a global hegemon without any serious rivals.

Victor Kiernan, one of the world’s most respected historians, has used his nuanced knowledge of history, literature and politics to trace the evolution of the American he includes accounts of relations between Indians and white settlers, readings of the work of Melville and Whitman, and an analysis of the way that money and politics became so closely intertwined.

Eric Hobsbawm’s preface provides an insight into his own thoughts on American imperialism, and a valuable introduction to Victor Kiernan’s work. Together, they shed useful light on today’s urgent debates about the uses and misuses of seemingly unlimited military power, a lack of respect for international agreements, and the right to ‘pre-emptive defense’.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, United States, The United States Of America

460 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Professor Victor Gordon Kiernan was an English Marxist historian and a former member of the Communist Party Historians Group with a particular focus on the history of imperialism. He was Emeritus Professor of History at the University of Edinburgh.

Reviews

[Betty · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a historical, sociological and political account of the United States of America as a nation built over colonization and prejudice. White religious men thinking seriously about their divine mission of submitting to slavery and bondage people seen as inferior evolved to political-economical domination and imperialism. Eric Hobsbawm wrote the preface and John Trumpbour added an astonishingly clear epilogue that brings out understanding of historical trends today and may help people in social struggle for a better world.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was well worth the effort to read. It's a long book - deceptively so in the edition I had as the typeface is quite small so there's a lot to get through which may not be fully apparent, judging by the thickness of the book! It's not a book to read on going to bed either, unless you are fully wide awake, as some of the ironic (or is that 'sarcastic'?) quips that Kiernan comes out with can pass you by unless you are fully on the qui vive. For that reason I enjoyed it. He is very good at demolishing a lot of the shibboleths of American imperialism - such as that it's all done in the furtherance of democracy, nothing more. The book is now a bit long in the tooth but it is still worth reading for the analysis of American imperialism, the debunking of many myths, and a reminder of events in the past which (if you're my age!) you may have lived through decades ago and only half understood then and have mostly forgotten about now.