marcynewman 's review for:

The Blood Never Dried: A People's History of the British Empire by John Newsinger

4.0

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Newsinger's book is definitely not an introduction to the British empire. Nor is it actually a people's history, if by people's history one means using Zinn's methodology. But just as Zinn's work helps one to see American history from a new and more honest vantage point, Newsinger's book plugs into British history and gives readers insight into British colonialism and resistance to it whether in Kenya or India or Palestine or Egypt. It's not expansive, but the book offers readers the ability to compare British interests in various contexts as well as their strategy for oppressing people and robbing them of their resources. While the people's history element is a bit muted, those whose voices are loudest in the volume are former British military men, and at times their wives or other similar types of witnesses, all of whom narrate the atrocities they committed or participated in in one way or another. For anyone interested in imperialism or British history this book is definitely a must read.