Farewell the Trumpets: An Imperial Retreat: Pax Britannica, Book 3

Actually, be careful taking these CDs out of the packaging. The third disc was tot and snapped when I was taking it out. Amazon was gracious enough to give me my money back even after time expired. But as this CD is out of print it seems, I'll have to pay more money probably somewhere else to now complete my set.

I just completed the final volume of James Morris' trilogy. The writing is superb. Although not as good as volume one (Heaven's Command), this book is well worth keeping. As usual; my only quibble is that there are no pictures in the Harcourt set that I have. That takes away a star.

This is the third in a trilogy on the British Empire by an author who is easy to read and filled with interesting information. For anyone who likes reading about British history. Highly recommended.

awesomeOne of the best books I have ever read

I highly recommend this title to others studying the British Empire. Very well written. Morris is a great writer. The condition of the book was in great shape.

This is a fine ending to what is possibly my favorite series of books, Jan Morris' outstanding "Pax Britannica Trilogy." Although I suppose the book could be read in isolation, it will be greatly enhanced by having read the first two in the series, so if you haven't read them, stop now and go check out "Heaven's Command: An Imperial Progress."Okay. If you're reading on, I'll assume you've read the first two books. The third is more of the same: a similar structure, with subdivided chapters, and the book itself divided into three sections: Part One, THE GRAND ILLUSION: 1897-1918; Part Two, THE PURPOSE FALTERS: 1918-1939; and Part Three, FAREWELL THE TRUMPETS: 1939-1965. The chapters, as in the earlier books, showcase illuminating episodes in the Victorian British Empire: battles, personages, advances in technology, attitudes, etc. In this book, some of the highlights are the Boer War, the invasion of Tibet, Gallipoli, the R101 airship disaster, the move to Irish independence, and the end of the Raj in India.The book is excellent and highly recommended, though I think it pales a bit compared to its predecessors. Part of that is inevitable, due to the subject matter: imperial retreat is bound to be a more subdued affair compared to the excitements of imperial expansion. It is a bit sad, having journeyed with this country through its imperial prime, to see it all evaporating so quickly -- even as Morris makes us well aware of the injustness and cruelties of imperialism that made its demise a net good for the world. Still, one can feel for the confusion and dislocation of a people as their world collapses around them.Morris' writing remains strong and vivid in this book, but here too I think it is a bit more slack than in the previous entries -- there is a bit too much of the purple prose and embellishment that Morris would sometimes be criticized for in her later career. This is especially troubling as the book moves into territory more concrete and familiar to the modern reader: the World Wars, Winston Churchill, etc. Still, there are still many chapters that pack a tremendous punch, and rank among some of the best writing I've ever encountered.Still and all, it's an excellent book and I'd encourage anyone to read it. There are thrilling stories here -- as well as the most delightful footnote I've ever read (you'll know it when you see it). Give it a try -- you won't be disappointed.

Jan Morris is a fascinating personality. She originally was a he, and he was a guardsman in the British army, an officer from a good family. He left the service, became a historian, and then went to Denmark or wherever, and came back a she. She now writes unusual, affecting, eccentric, entertaining books that are terribly British and a bit disorganized. The Pax Brittanica trilogy is her life's work, near enough, though she's done other books that are very good. This one, however, is three volumes long, quite involved and very detailed. The series includes Heaven's Command, Pax Britannica, and Farewell the Trumpets. The first generally deals with the Empire in the 1840s on, the second follows things through the thirties, and the third follows the empire through its disbandment.As I said, Morris is eccentric. This means that though the books are sort of chronological, they aren't exactly sorted the way you would expect, and this isn't really a history of the empire or the era. Instead, it's an anecdotal collection of tales, incidents, and sketches, marvelously told. Sort of like the difference between going through a cafeteria once and a sumptuous buffet where you go back and forth, taking time with what you enjoy. I thoroughly enjoyed the books, though I would hesitate to recommend them to someone who wasn't clear on either geography, or at least some basic history of the British Empire. Since this isn't either of those, you need them to understand what she's talking about occasionally.

Even if you haven't read the other two volumes in the Pax Britannica trilogy, Farewell the Trumpets is a must-buy. It's worth it just to read the brilliant eulogy for Winston Churchill, where in one chapter Morris does better job of capturing this man and his place in history than lesser authors could do in a whole volume.My recommendation is to take your time and savor this book. Like Heaven's Command and Pax Britannica, Farewell the Trumpets is episodic in its presentation, each chapter a self-contained nugget, so that you can enjoy dipping into it frequently.

Jan Morris's contribution to the history of the British Empire will only be truly measured as future generations turn to a series of books that will surely stand the test of time. This trilogy is a supreme example of how to marry the past with the present, to allow the triumphs and follies behind us to illuminate the way forward for those with eyes to read and independent minds to think. Perhaps sensing this, she writes, "... the post-imperial generation is passing by, and the mass of the British people know little of their lost Empire, and care still less."And yet within these pages there is so much worth understanding. In Farewell the Trumpets there are great names in the foreground: T E Lawrence, Gandhi, Smuts and Churchill, politicians, statesmen and generals. Lesser mortals, too, for not the least of Morris's gifts is her ability to portray a person in an anecdote, evoke a mood with a poem, reawaken a moment in time with a musty cutting. There is ample humour for Morris loves a good joke. Most of the places of which she writes she has visited, many of the people she has met. And just once, the meticulous, even-handed historian gives way to the proud writer, and then only in a characteristically wry footnote: "The imperturbable Mufti settled after the war in Egypt - where I met him, I cannot resist recording, at the wedding of the King of Libya."These three books represent a decade of travel, investigation, exploration and conversation. Five stars do them scant justice.

I had read Pax Britannica (3 volumes, very long) and enjoyed it many years ago. The abridgement is gripping, though it (understandably) focuses on the adventure stories, horrific incidents, and the most colourful of characters. In Britain we are largely ignorant of the astonishing sweep and scope of Empire, and of the way our achievements, delivering the fruits of enlightenment, Christianity and industrial revolution, shaped the modern world. Children are more likely to be taught of the evils of Empire ... Amritsar, famine in Bengal and so on ... but the substantial achievements beggar belief. It comes as a surprise to rediscover how much the Empire was in its early days a matter of private initiative, about which government was usually hostile. Only in this final pompous hey-day did Empire become a sort of state religion, with Victoria its goddess. A great and, unusually, affectionate look through the annals of a period that seems all but incredible now.

This trilogy should be the set text for all secondary school history teaching; it’s a brilliant account of the British Empire from start to finish which illuminates our nation’s place in the world today. No dry history book this, entirely entertaining and always informative. I can’t recommend it highly enough

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At times this trilogy seems long winded, but if you stick with it, you will be greatly rewarded. The vast array of information and detail is amazing. So much more I now know about the Empire it has been truly enlightening.