One Fine Day: Britain's Empire on the Brink

Extensive research across the British empire. Shows both sides of the story. Well written.

The author is certainly not an apologist for the British Empire, nor by his own admission does he attempt in this almost-six-hundred-page book to offer a comprehensive overview of the Empire as it was on "One Fine Day" in 1923, when Britain controlled 14 million square miles of the Earth and one fifth of the world's population. From that point forward, it was all down hill for the Rule of Britannia. But, as the author deftly shows, things weren't so great even at the high point.For the fact is that even then, the British Empire was far from being a cohesive, centralized structure that was ruled from London. Major portions (Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa) were essentially independent and had their own special interests, as the the Imperial Conference of 1923 clearly demonstrated. India, post-World War I, was becoming restive (as was much of the rest of the Empire) and some colonies, such as Kenya, dominated by its white settlers, were in one way or another out of control.Parker presents the empire to his readers in all its ugliness and, for the most part, without the glory. Although much could be said about the positive aspects of empire (building infrastructure, creating institutions, promoting education, health and welfare, for example), most of what the author chooses to focus on is the exploitation, racism, and failure of the British overlords to govern in the interests of the native populations. A supreme example he cites is what happened to Ocean Island (part of the Gilbert and Ellis chain in the Pacific Ocean), where a British mining company, in collusion with government officials, destroyed the ecosystem in order to remove the island's phosphate deposits, leaving the native islanders with virtually nothing. An outright system of virtual slavery existed in Kenya under British rule, and Burma and Malaya were exploited for their resources to the detriment of all else. British officials and settlers are, for the most part not admirable, especially as portrayed by authors such as E.M. Forster, George Orwell, and Leonard Wolf, each extensively quoted by Parker.The book is told as a series of vignettes, crossing the Empire from East to West, from the Pacific to the West Indies. For the most part it's not uplifting to see Britain's empire at its most expansive. The rot was there for those willing to see it. And, indeed, the Empire began its collapse soon thereafter (India--the Jewel in the Crown--gaining its independence just 24 years later). There were good people within the establishment of the Empire who tried to uphold ideals that could have helped the Empire to endure: equality of the races, governance for the benefit of the governed, and preserving the traditional values of native societies rather than running roughshod over them. These idealists failed in their efforts, as Parker makes clear. In the end, the idea of a benevolent Empire was bunk since Imperial interests almost always prevailed over native welfare. A great epitaph for the Empire is provided by Hugh Clifford, a British official in Malaya: "We English have an immense amount to answer for, for the good an bad we have done--both with the most excellent intentions." Parker does an excellent job of showing that whatever the intentions of the rulers, the Empire at the zenith was doomed to fail.

While most history books will detail chronologically one thread in the fabric of human existence, this book is organized on the state of many related threads at one point in time. Enough background is provided for the reader to understand the context of that part of the world at the time and why different people thought and felt as they did. Fascinating! And a clearly powerful methodology.

I am interested in British history, but found this book a disappointment. Sometimes it's interesting, especially when it deals with ways of life in the Empire. Sections about Ocean Island (a faraway Pacific isle brought to ruin by mining interests), Kenya, and Jamaica bring the Empire to life. But a big central chunk of the book is devoted to India, and here it deals mostly with the lengthy, complicated politics. So many tedious disputes, so many forgotten politicians who might as well stay forgotten--except perhaps by specialists who may really want the details. For a beautiful, readable history of the Empire, find a copy of James Morris' three-book "Pax Britannica" series. That's a work to fall in love with. This one is not.

Approche originale et bien documenté de la situation de l'Empire Britannique entre les deux guerres mondiales.

This is an excellent and very scholarly account of the British Empire in a year (1923) when it was at its largest while on the brink of rapid decline. It explores the many bad traits of the empire (and they were very bad) while also accepting there were some advantages for the colonists living within the empire. Very detailed and very readable.

This is a scholarly work. The kindle edition has numbers denoting a footnote or endnote in the text. These are NOT hyperlinked and just go to the TOC. There isn’t even a separate section of endnotes which would at least show sources. Extremely frustrating and very poor. I gave it 5 stars for content and approach but 0 stars for the kindle edition because of lack of footnotes.

An interesting concept, which Parker delivers well. Valuable sections on the Pacific and Malaya, rather sketchier ones on the West Indies, nothing on southern Africa. The really glaring omission is the Middle East, where we see today the disastrous results of British rule. Worth reading, but could have been still better.

An excellent book covering the British Empire during its last days. It is well written and extensively researched, with lots of detail and stories that are new to me. Highly recommended.I hope you find my review helpful.