We have updated our Privacy Policy Please take a moment to review it. By continuing to use this site, you agree to the terms of our updated Privacy Policy.
In OLD WORLD, NEW WORLD Kathleen Burk sets out to tell the story of Britain and America across four hundred years, from colonisation to Iraq.
There are two strands to this story. The first is the grand narrative that takes in the British colonisation of America and the American Revolutionary War, the American Civil War and the global conflicts of the twentieth century. This is the story of America’s inevitable eclipse of its former colonial master as a Great Power, and of the enmities and sympathies, the confusions and understandings born along the way. The second strand is quieter but no less fascinating. Displaying a breathtaking command of her subject, Burk examines the relations between the two countries in many other spheres: economic, religious, cultural, social, even romantic.
These two strands taken together make Old World, New World an unprecedented achievement. No one could hope to write the definitive story of these two countries and their relationship, but few will come closer than Kathleen Burk has in this brilliant book.
There are two strands to this story. The first is the grand narrative that takes in the British colonisation of America and the American Revolutionary War, the American Civil War and the global conflicts of the twentieth century. This is the story of America’s inevitable eclipse of its former colonial master as a Great Power, and of the enmities and sympathies, the confusions and understandings born along the way. The second strand is quieter but no less fascinating. Displaying a breathtaking command of her subject, Burk examines the relations between the two countries in many other spheres: economic, religious, cultural, social, even romantic.
These two strands taken together make Old World, New World an unprecedented achievement. No one could hope to write the definitive story of these two countries and their relationship, but few will come closer than Kathleen Burk has in this brilliant book.
Newsletter Signup
By clicking ‘Sign Up,’ I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Hachette Book Group’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
Reviews
Immensely thought-provoking . . . lucid, enjoyably propulsive narrative
An ambitious narrative... in rich detail... Burk enlightens her grand narrative with three interludes of cultural history... Old World, New World is still the most reliable, lucidly narrated and generous history of the mutual entanglement of Britain and America we are likely to have for some time. It is a story of two worlds.
Balanced, intelligent, insightful and sometimes funny, Burk's book is sure to be regarded as the definitive work on the subject
OLD WORLD, NEW WORLD should be compulsory reading in No 10 and the Foreign Office