After Tamerlane: The Rise and Fall of Global Empires, 1400-2000

The Hapsburgs, the Ottomans, the Mughals, the Manchus, the British, the Japanese, the Nazis, and the Soviets: All built empires meant to last forever; all were to fail. But, as John Darwin shows in this magisterial book, their empire-building created the world we know today. From the death of Eurasian emperor Tamerlane in 1405, to America's rise to world "hyperpower," to the resurgence of China and India as global economic forces, After Tamerlane is a grand historical narrative that offers a new perspective on the past, present, and future of empires.