Stolen History: The truth about the British Empire and how it shaped us

Product Information

This book has equipped me with facts about Britain’s past and my family’s past.... Read Full Review Without getting bogged down in definitions, calculations or complicated comparisons, Empireland also manages to convey something of the sheer variety of imperial experiences over four centuries, and the limits of broad-brush explanations. Most of Britain’s wealth probably came from non-imperial trade. Imperial control was made possible by the collaboration of indigenous rulers and groups. Other nations have similarly problematic histories. And there’s a long history of Britons themselves criticising, not celebrating, the “full, gut-wrenching horror” of imperial violence and racism. Empireland conveys the variety of imperial experiences over four centuries – and the limits of broad-brush explanations Writing the book was a “long process” and 80% covers topics that didn’t feature in Empireland, says Sanghera. An entire chapter on economics, which took up four months of the author’s life, didn’t even make it into the final version. My response to reading Sathnam Sanghera’s bestselling Empireland was, “I only wish this book had been around when I was at school.” So I’m delighted to see that he has written the soon to be published Stolen History: an introduction to the British empire for younger readers. Understanding our history is crucial to making sense of the world around us, and this warm and informative book sets out an engaging and accessible account of how our past has shaped our present – from the language we use, to the food we eat. A must-read for every young person – and their parents, too. I thought the discussion on lasting legacies of the British Empire and how they can be dealt with was super fascinating. Especially because I explored these legacies in the form of statues and what should be done with them, for my Master’s dissertation and I’m still keeping up-to-date with these debates, even now.

Stolen History by Sathnam Sanghera - LoveReading4Kids Stolen History by Sathnam Sanghera - LoveReading4Kids

Empireland is a vital investigation. In the stammering words of a character named Whisky Sisodia in Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses: “The trouble with the Engenglish is that their hiss-hiss-history happened overseas, so they do- do-don’t know what it means.” It’s the perfect epigraph for the book, which stands apart from most volumes on the merits and demerits of the British empire because it is cast as a personal journey of understanding… The result is an extremely readable and well-researched book that seeks to explain, among other things, the country’s sense of exceptionalism when dealing with Brexit and the pandemic; the position of the City of London as one of the world’s major financial centres; the wealth of its richest families and institutions; and the state of its grand country houses and museums.” Empire State of Mind review – 'Within moments, I am crying on to my laptop' ". the Guardian. 20 November 2021. Honorary Doctor of Letters for services to journalism, University of Wolverhampton, September 2009. [3]In the fifth century BC, Euripides released his tragedy The Trojan Women in a crowded theatre. The work recreated the end of the Trojan war – the Greeks’ great patriotic victory. What the proud Athenians heard on that tumultuous afternoon was the rage and despair of the mothers and wives of the enemy, accusing their heroes of cruelty. They came face to face with their own barbarity. I've had the adult version 'Empireland' of this book on my shelves for months and haven't gotten around to reading it but this children's version is fascinating and so accessible - definitely a must read for adults as well as children! What are the other differences between writing a book for adults and one for children? Stolen History was more heavily edited, a process he enjoyed. And this was the first time he had worked with an illustrator—Jen Khatun, who is of Bangladeshi/Indian heritage. I’ve resisted suggestions that I write a kids’ book on empire on the grounds that I didn’t want to sanitise the history. But I think I’ve found a tone that allows me to be both honest and entertaining. I’m really excited that kids might soon have access to knowledge about the British Empire that I only stumbled across at the age of 45. Becoming at ease with this history is essential to Britain becoming a saner country.”

Stolen History: The Truth About the British Empire and How It Stolen History: The Truth About the British Empire and How It

The British Empire ran for centuries and covered vast swathes of the world. It is, as Sanghera reveals, fundamental to understanding Britain. However, even among those who celebrate the empire there seems to be a desire not to look at it too closely – not to include the subject in our school history books, not to emphasize it too much in our favourite museums. Stolen History is a starting point for important conversations about right and wrong, ethics, different interpretations of history and how, or if, countries that once ruled others should make amends. Thanks so much for your lovely message and for everything that you do with Book Wagon. Yourself and Bob are much cherished in our booky world and I personally really appreciate everything that you do.billion people are inhabitants of former British colonies. The empire's influence upon the quarter of the planet it occupied, and its gravitational influence upon the world outside it, has been profound: from the spread of Christianity by missionaries to nearly 1 in 3 driving on the left side of the road, and even shaping the origins of international law. Yet Britain's idea of its imperial history and the world's experience of it are two very different things. ­­ Categorising Sanghera’s book simply as history feels like a massive undersell. It’s also memoir, journalism, commentary on how we live now by examining how we lived then, and a book that achieves the crucial distinction of being important without being inaccessible. As a columnist at The Times , a memoirist, and a popular tweeter, Sanghera has had plenty of experience of reader blindness over Britain’s non-white citizens, and their populist distaste for America and its racist history, despite the British Empire being “one of the biggest white supremacist enterprises in the history of humanity”. One could only wish that more people read this utterly engaging book, not just to better understand our country’s history, but to finally put to bed that awful question, “Where are you from really ?”Rating: 10/10′ I've resisted suggestions that I write a kids' book on empire on the grounds that I didn't want to sanitise the history. But I think I've found a tone that allows me to be both honest and entertaining. I'm really excited that kids might soon have access to knowledge about the British Empire that I only stumbled across at the age of 45. Becoming at ease with this history is essential to Britain becoming a saner country." - Sathnam Sanghera It’s another Bookwagon day in our house. The kids were so excited to get their latest books in the post.

Stolen History: The truth about the British Empire and how it Stolen History: The truth about the British Empire and how it

But to make too much of such qualifications would be to miss the essential point. Both deliberately and unconsciously, the empire was “one of the biggest white supremacist enterprises in the history of humanity”, and it still corrupts British society in countless ways. Sanghera’s unflinching attempt to understand this process, and to counter the cognitive dissonance and denial of Britain’s modern imperial amnesia, makes for a moving and stimulating book that deserves to be widely read. I've resisted suggestions that I write a kids' book on empire on the grounds that I didn't want to sanitise the history. But I think I've found a tone that allows me to be both honest and entertaining. I'm really excited that kids might soon have access to knowledge about the British Empire that I only stumbled across at the age of 45. Becoming at ease with this history is essential to Britain becoming a saner country. - Sathnam Sanghera About This Edition ISBN: Stolen History is a truly remarkable achievement: an historically accurate, diligently researched and nuanced account of the British Empire that is also gripping for younger readers. I know of no other writer who could have accomplished such a feat.” LoveReading4Kids exists because books change lives, and buying books through LoveReading4Kids means you get to change the lives of future generations, with 25% of the cover price donated to schools in need. Join our community to get personalised book suggestions, extracts straight to your inbox, 10% off RRPs, and to change children’s lives.

The British Empire has a long history. How you describe that history might depend on who you are, how it perhaps had an impact on your family history, your place and role in the world. What cannot be denied is that it is a part of our history. A part of world history. I am not one who judges the people and actions of the past by our own standards and expectations. I am not afraid to say that whilst I may not condone all the actions of those in the past, I try to understand why they did what they did, with the knowledge and experiences that they had.