America: The New Imperialism: From White Settlement to World Hegemony

Kiernan [is] the most lucid, elegant and cultured Marxist historian....The achievement is an extraordinary one.
-- Owen Dudley Edwards, The Scotsman

That great Scottish historian of empire.
-- Edward Said

A new edition of a major historical account of the evolution of American imperialism with a specially commissioned new preface by Eric Hobsbawm.

The invasion and occupation of Iraq have sparked considerable discussion about the nature of American imperialism, but most of it revolves around immediate concerns. This book is rooted in a classical historical approach and is a convincing and compelling analysis of the different phases of American imperialism which has now made it a global hegemon without any serious rivals on the horizon.

Victor Kiernan, one of the world’s most respected historians, has used his nuanced knowledge of history, literature and politics to trace the evolution of the American Empire: accounts of relations between Indians and white settlers, readings of the work of Melville and Whitman, and analysis of the way money and politics became intertwined all find a home here.

Eric Hobsbawm’s preface provides both an insight into his own current thoughts on American imperialism and a valuable introduction to Victor Kiernan’s work. Together, they shed useful light on today’s urgent debates about such issues as the uses and misuses of seemingly unlimited military power, a lack of respect for international agreements, and the right to pre-emptive defense.