{"product_id":"rule-of-empires-those-who-built-them-those-who-endured-them-and-why-they-always-fall-9780199931156","title":"Rule of Empires: Those Who Built Them, Those Who Endured Them, and Why They Always Fall","description":"In \u003cem\u003eThe Rule of Empires\u003c\/em\u003e, Timothy Parsons gives a sweeping account of the evolution of empire from ancient Rome to its most recent twentieth-century embodiment. He explains what constitutes an empire, what empires of the past can tell us about our own historical moment, and perhaps most\u003cbr\u003eimportant, why empires always fail. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWriting from the perspective of the common subject rather than that of the imperial conquerors, Parsons offers a historically grounded cautionary tale rich with accounts of subjugated peoples throwing off the yoke of empire time and time again. The book takes us inside ancient Rome's conquest of\u003cbr\u003eBritain, Muslim rule in Spain, Spain's empire in Peru, Britain's new imperialism in India and Kenya, and the Third Reich's occupation of France, among other examples. Parsons illuminates the features common to all these empires, their evolutions and self-justifying myths, and the reasons for their\u003cbr\u003einevitable decline. He argues that far from confirming some sort of Darwinian hierarchy of advanced and primitive societies, these conquests were invariably the product of a temporary advantage in military technology, wealth, and political will. And beneath the self-justifying rhetoric of benevolent\u003cbr\u003epaternalism and cultural superiority lay a naked desire for power--in short, to loot the wealth and exploit the labor of conquered peoples. Imperial ambitions are still viable in the twenty-first century, Parsons shows, because their defenders and detractors alike employ abstract and romanticized\u003cbr\u003eperspectives that fail to grasp the historical reality of subjugation. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn providing an accurate picture of what it is like to live as a subject, \u003cem\u003eThe Rule of Empires\u003c\/em\u003e lays bare the rationalizations of imperial conquerors and their apologists and exposes the true limits of imperial power.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=AUTH-1731726\"\u003eTimothy H. Parsons\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Oxford University Press, USA\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/01\/2012\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 496\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.45lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.20h x 6.10w x 1.40d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780199931156\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0199931151\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBISAC Categories:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-HIS\"\u003eHistory\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-HIS037000\"\u003eWorld | General\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-HIS\"\u003eHistory\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-HIS037010\"\u003eEurope | Medieval\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-HIS\"\u003eHistory\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-HIS002020\"\u003eAncient | Rome\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTimothy Parsons\u003c\/strong\u003e is a Professor of African History at Washington University. He is the author many books, including \u003cem\u003eThe British Imperial Century, 1815-1914: A World History Perspective\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eThe 1964 Army Mutinies and the Making of Modern East Africa.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThis title is not returnable\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Oxford University Press, USA","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42675232375021,"sku":"9780199931156","price":23.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/8097\/6621\/products\/img_0f54f305-f7b2-4cdc-9636-e60a07039a8b.jpg?v=1649600164","url":"https:\/\/sureshotbooks.com\/products\/rule-of-empires-those-who-built-them-those-who-endured-them-and-why-they-always-fall-9780199931156","provider":"SureShot Books Publishing LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}