The depth of Darwin's learning is impressive…[his] tone throughout is admirably detached and scholarly, though his dry wit keeps it well away from being boring…[a] sharp, thoughtful, enjoyable and levelheaded book.

The New York Times Book Review

Mr. Darwin's informative and intelligent book is ably written, and it is brimming with interesting statistics and acute observations.

The Wall Street Journal

[A] remarkable history of the empire…. immensely important and useful. As an Englishman, Darwin declines to be either boastful or self-lacerating about the empire his country presided over, but simply examines it with a clear eye. This he has achieved to a laudable and indeed remarkable degree.

Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post

Undoubtedly a great work, a book that goes truly global in chronicling the history of one of our abiding concerns: the pull and limitations of absolute power. It forces the reader to rethink commonly held assumptions about our collective past. For that alone, it should be read.

St Petersburg Times on AFTER TAMERLANE

In this marvellously illuminating book, John Darwin accepts much but not all of the revisionist analysis. With an awesome grasp of global history, he demonstrates that the continental peninsula of Europe was peripheral for most of the time since the 14th-century conquests of Tamerlane...Darwin sustains an intricate thesis with enormous panache.

The Independent (UK) on AFTER TAMERLANE

A work of massive erudition, After Tamerlane overturns smug Eurocentric teleologies to present a compelling new perspective on international history. Though the subject of empire stirs partisan passions these days, Darwin exudes fairmindedness...Big topics demand big treatments, yet few are brave or knowledgeable enough to hazard them. Darwin has provided an ambitious, monumental and convincing reminder that empires are the rule, not the exception, in world history.

Guardian (UK) on AFTER TAMERLANE