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Morris Jan
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Heaven's command;: An imperial progress Hardcover – January 1, 1974

by James Morris (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 32 ratings
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Great travel accounts.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    554 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 1974
  5. ISBN-10
    015139900X
  6. ISBN-13
    978-0151399000
  7. See all details
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  1. Pax Britannica
  2. Heaven's Command
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich (January 1, 1974)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 554 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 015139900X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0151399000
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.98 pounds
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 32 ratings

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Morris Jan

Morris Jan

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
32 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

V. Burgett
5.0 out of 5 stars Best condensed narrative of the British Empire under Victoria
Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2005
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I thoroughly enjoyed Jan Morris' survey of the 19th century British Empire. Having studied this topic from numerous other sources and perspectives, I still found this to be a refreshing account, and one that tied numerous facets into a cohesive whole. While some might regard Morris as writing with too much of a pro-British bias, I did not find the lack of politically-correct 'empire-bashing' to be problematic. Indeed, Morris emphasizes the negative (and the ludicrous) right alongside the positive. In the few instances where the perspective is obviously skewed, the informed student of history can easily read between the lines. In short, for the curious, I recommend this as the finest single volume on this topic, both for its informative content and its exciting, engaging writing style. I look forward to reading more of Morris' works.
32 people found this helpful
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adboughton
5.0 out of 5 stars People say this book has changed their lives - and one can see why
Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2014
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This work of inspired genius explains so much of the present day world that it - and its companion books - should be base reading in school curricula. And particularly for anyone living in a former European 19th century colony, whether British or otherwise. It's the engaging work of history I've personally read, a fabulous antidote to the flat, self-hating and soul-destroying Marxist historians and culture critics (the majority, whether they know it or not) and far outclasses even entertaining historical autobiographies or fictions like those of Michener. And yet it's all fact based. It's alive.

And has inspired other writers, notably Thedore Dalrymble, who seems to have looted not less that three successive chapters for three of his own less rounded, more ideological books.

Andrew Boughton
Sydney, Australia,
10 people found this helpful
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Michael Dolamore
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating!
Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2012
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I gave this 6 CD set a 5 star rating for its easy-flowing, fact-packed and totally informative content. I was never bored for an instant, though I was disappointed that it ended when it did, before the end of the century, but I knew that this was one of a trilogy. The writer, and reader, brings to life the many colourful and quite incredible personalities that appeared to abound in those days. There was also no bias towards imperialism, and indeed, at times, clearly made the case against it, such as his portrayal of Gladstone and his opinion. A great work for anyone interested in history of this period.
5 people found this helpful
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JB1976
5.0 out of 5 stars Superb.
Reviewed in the United States on October 10, 2015
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Excellent. Covers what I wanted it to cover. Was not revisionist or of the school that has the 'white man' as the root of all evil.
5 people found this helpful
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Daniel Marticello
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on February 15, 2017
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great book
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margot
5.0 out of 5 stars They are all good, but Vol 1 may well be the best
Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2022
I came to Heaven's Command only after listening to the other volumes a couple of times each. Morris did not follow a strict chronology when laying out these histories, so a surprising amount of the material in this first volume pertains to or explains the latter 19th century (the apex of the Pax Brittanica in the title, crowned by Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897, to which we continually return in the trilogy). Thus, if you approach this volume reluctantly because you imagine it's going to be the Pitts and Lord Melbourne, be of glad heart. There are narratives in here with which I was totally unfamiliar, eg the sad story of the Tasmanian aboriginals, who were thoroughly wiped out in a few decades. And the story of Parnell in Ireland is explained in pleasing detail.
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Linda
1.0 out of 5 stars mind numbing
Reviewed in the United States on December 25, 2012
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I could not find the humanity. It was touted as the story of England's grandeur, but instead all I found was the underbelly: the criminals of Australia, the Afrikans, the Thugees, the disdain for all other ethnic groups and religions and the pompous and self centered desire of an entire country to "teach them" all how to be British. The book lacked soul.
5 people found this helpful
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Jane Levine
5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Audio Performance of a Great Trilogy
Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2021
I have listened to hundreds of audio books, but Roy McMillan's performance of Jan Morris' Pax Britannica trilogy is the very best of anything I have heard. McMillan has taken a complex, exhaustively researched and beautifully written work and made it come alive. Jan Morris' voice comes through, with all if its emotion, wit and humor. This is particularly meaningful now that Morris is no longer with us. But, in addition, McMillan makes every historical character come to life ---- with fabulous accents no less. Jan Morris recorded an introduction to this production which we hear at the beginning. She must have been so pleased with this wonderful audio production.
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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leaveswind
4.0 out of 5 stars Heaven's command; by James Morris
Reviewed in Japan on July 17, 2018
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中古本でしたが、書き込みなどはなく中は奇麗でよかったです。が、挿絵や写真が黒白でしかも不鮮明で少しがっかりしました。これを買ったのは翻訳本を読んで、人名や土地名の原語での表記を知りたかったのと、英語教材として良いと考えたからです。ジャン・モリスのこのシリーズ、
Pax Britannnika や　Farewell the Trumpets も翻訳で読みましたが、いずれもすばらしく、驚きの連続でした。司馬遼太郎の世界が箱庭細工程度のものに見えて来ます。イギリス人の祖先はヴァイキングであった事を改めて考えさせられました。又世界各地の旅行案内にもとても役立つと思いました。
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s.blore
5.0 out of 5 stars good value
Reviewed in Canada on April 18, 2015
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Arrived safely and as described. I'd ordered from a seller listed in Toronto but it came from the UK with no extra charges for shipping. great!
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D Wycherley
5.0 out of 5 stars History made fascinating
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 26, 2011
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When I was at school, I thought History was boring. Given the books and teachers I had, my views were probable justified. Jan Morris, on the other hand, makes it all fascinating.

This is a thoughtful and fair-minded account of perhaps the most important stage in bringing Britain to where it is today.

When Victoria came to the throne, she and Britain did not have and in general did not want an Empire. But over the next 60 years, an amazing conglomeration of powerful, interesting, and sometimes fairly weird characters, each with their own often conflicting aims, ambitions and methods, assembled the "empire upon which the sun never sets" and made Victoria the ruler of a large part of the world. Some wanted to make money, some wanted to bring order and peace, some wanted to uphold "human rights", some wanted to spread their religion. There was no grand plan or overarching strategy or controlling mastermind, but somehow it all happened. Read all about it (or listen) here.

There were disasters too, of course - perhaps less well reported in the ordinary histories. Ominously, the greatest and bloodiest failure was the misguided attempt to bring order and harmony to Afghanistan!!
6 people found this helpful
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Shirley Whittington Barrette
4.0 out of 5 stars Book arrived
Reviewed in Canada on December 15, 2020
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The book was a present. It arrived two days later than scheduled, but that’s OK. Good condition.
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Metropolitan Critic
5.0 out of 5 stars Splendid panoramas of Empire
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 6, 2012
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The theme of Heaven's Command, the history of the British Empire from 1837 to 1897, is a huge and potentially unmanageable one. Jan Morris's approach is to present a sequence of scenes, among others the first Afghan war, the suppression of the Thugs, the Jamaican uprising, the Irish famine, the quest for the source of the Nile, the Zulu war and the defeat by the Boers at Mujuba Hill. She evokes these events almost cinematically, and has a wonderful skill in describing landscapes, buildings, weather, clothes, sounds. She described the purpose of the book as:

'to make people feel that they've had a window thrown open for them, to let them survey for an hour or two the whole wide panorama of a world that's gone'.

The metaphor of the book as a panorama, or rather a sequence of panoramic views, is an apt one as her evocations are intensely visual. She is broadly sympathetic to the imperial venture, but this does not blind her to its brutality: one of the saddest chapters deals with the fate of the Tasmanian aborigines.

It is a marvellously entertaining book, vigorously read in the audio version by Roy McMillan.
5 people found this helpful
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