A review by aimeesteph
Empireland by Sathnam Sanghera

4.0

Really insightful and interesting book about the history and legacy of the British empire. I really enjoyed how facts about the empire intersected with anecdotes from the authors experiences. Focuses on the British reluctance to acknowledge the empire and the impact it is having on British culture today. Really loved the chapter of ‘immigrant’ vs ‘expat’. My only complaint is the line to ‘Visit Bombay street which is named after a British campaign’ ok yes but also visit it to see the remains of how it was entirely burnt out by the British army in the 70s? That’s probably a bigger reminder of the empire there. Really interesting (and slightly scary) seeing the similarity in how British people responded to immigrants from the empire to how they’re responding to immigrants today.