Book recommendations for british politics

[Arie]

Hi,

I'm looking for books that could give me a well rounded history of british politics?

Also any suggestions for books on the colonisation of the americas and africa would be welcomed :)

[MarxSchmarx]

Also any suggestions for books on the colonisation of the americas and africa would be welcomed :) On the colonization of Africa, my personal favorite is King Leopold's Ghost. I cannot recommend it highly enough. It documents how the Congo was destroyed by Belgian colonization. This has to be one of the most incredibly well-written account of the atrocities that followed.

Another somewhat less engagingly, though still very well written, reasonably fun and potentially more informative book was "The Sultan's Shadow" that tells the story of the intersection between the Omani, American, French, British and even German power struggle on the east coast of Africa, centered around the Omani territory of Zanzibar. The book focuses heavily on the East African slave trade, and the role that British anti-slavery policy was used as a justification for imperial expansion. It's told through the lens of the Omani dynasty and is a great read.

Just to be clear, the Sultan's Shadow is still a good book. It's just that in my opinion King Leopold's Ghost really is among the best popular history books written in recent decades.

[Comrade J]

Open Veins of Latin America: 5 Centuries of the pillage of a Continent, by Eduardo Galleano - an absolutely excellent book, written in such a nice almost-poetic style.

[praxis1966]

I don't think it counts as a history per se, but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Frantz Fanon's The Wretched of the Earth.

[Arie]

Cheers for the replies, I'll go and check them out