Blood, Class and Empire: The Enduring Anglo-American RelationshipSince the end of the Cold War so-called experts have been predicting the eclipse of America's "special relationship" with Britain. But as events have shown, especially in the wake of 9/11, the political and cultural ties between America and Britain have grown stronger. Blood, Class and Empire examines the dynamics of this relationship, its many cultural manifestations -- the James Bond series, PBS "brit Kitsch," Rudyard Kipling -- and explains why it still persists. Contrarian, essayist and polemicist Christopher Hitchens notes that while the relationship is usually presented as a matter of tradition, manners, and common culture, sanctified by wartime alliance, the special ingredient is empire; transmitted from an ancien regime that has tried to preserve and renew itself thereby. England has attempted to play Greece to the American Rome, but ironically having encouraged the United States to become an equal partner in the business of empire, Britain found itself supplanted. |
Contents
| 3 | |
| 22 | |
2 Brit Kitsch | 38 |
3 The Bard of Empires | 63 |
4 Blood Relations | 98 |
5 Vox Americana | 127 |
6 From Love to Hate and Back Again | 152 |
7 The Churchill Cult | 180 |
9 Churchills Revenge | 239 |
10 Imperial Receivership | 252 |
11 Discordant Intimacy | 292 |
12 The Bond of Intelligence | 319 |
13 Nuclear Jealousies | 340 |
Conclusion | 359 |
Bibliographic Note | 373 |
| 381 | |
Other editions - View all
Blood, Class and Empire: The Enduring Anglo-American Relationship Christopher Hitchens Limited preview - 2004 |
Blood, Class and Empire: The Enduring Anglo-American Relationship Christopher Hitchens No preview available - 2009 |
Blood, Class and Empire: The Enduring Anglo-American Relationship Christopher Hitchens No preview available - 2013 |
Common terms and phrases
Admiral Africa Aldrich alliance allies ambassador Amer American Anglo-American Anglo-Saxon Anglophile Anglophilia Annenberg Atlantic blood Britain British Empire Burnham cable called Churchill's colonial cultural defense Ditchley Eisenhower England English Establishment Europe European Evelyn Waugh fact felt forces Foreign Office French George German Greek Harold Macmillan Henry Adams House ican idea imperial India influence intelligence interest Iran isolationist James James Burnham John Kipling's later Lend-Lease letter London Lord Macmillan Mahan matter Middle East military Minister Monroe Doctrine naval Navy never nuclear once perhaps poem political President proposed published Reagan receivership reply Republican Rhodes Rhodes Scholars Roman Rome Ronald Roosevelt Rudyard Kipling Secretary seems Senator ships special relationship speech Spring-Rice Suez things took Tory tradition Union United Vietnam Walter Annenberg wartime Washington White Man's Burden William Wilson Winston Churchill Woodrow words wrote