The depth of Darwin's learning is impressive…. [his] tone throughout is admirably detached and scholarly, though his dry wit keeps it well away from being boring…. [a] sharp, thoughtful, enjoyable and levelheaded book.

The New York Times Book Review

Mr. Darwin's informative and intelligent book is ably written, and it is brimming with interesting statistics and acute observations.

The Wall Street Journal

[A] remarkable history of the empire…. immensely important and useful. As an Englishman, Darwin declines to be either boastful or self-lacerating about the empire his country presided over, but simply examines it with a clear eye. This he has achieved to a laudable and indeed remarkable degree.

Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post

A brilliantly perceptive analysis of the forces and ideas that drove the creation of an extraordinary enterprise … Bringing together his huge erudition, scrupulous fairness and elegant prose, Mr Darwin has produced a wonderfully stimulating account of something that today seems almost incredibly yet was, in historical terms, only yesterday.

Economist