A WASHINGTON POST BOOK WORLD NOTABLE BOOK After the American Revolution, the British Empire appeared to be doomed. Yet it grew to become the greatest, most diverse empire the world had seen. Then, within a generation, the mighty structure collapsed, a rapid demise that left an array of dependencies and a contested legacy: at best a sporting spirit, a legal code and a near-universal language; at worst, failed states and internecine strife. The Decline and Fall of the British Empire covers a vast canvas, which Brendon fills with vivid particulars, from brief lives to telling anecdotes to comic episodes to symbolic moments.

The ninth volume of the Print Network series contains twelve chapters from scholars working on the connections between the parties involved in the production of print artefacts, from author to printer, publisher, bookseller and reader. Chronologically, the offerings range from the seventeenth to the twentieth centuries as they track the developing trade in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. Publishers and readers who spent part of their lives in North America are also featured in several of the chapters. The main theme emerging from this volume is the significance of cheap print, including newspapers and journals. The social, cultural political and economic significance of these artefacts is highlighted by an in-depth examination of the lives of those men and women who participated in the book trade.