“Ghosts of Empire” was recommended to me by a former MP in September and I’m so glad I eventually got round to finishing it. This book offers a brilliant and accessible look at British imperialism, bringing together the stories of six different regions—Kashmir, Nigeria, Iraq, Hong Kong, Burma, and Sudan. Kwasi Kwarteng delves into the policy of individualism at the heart of British rule. Governance often depended on the personalities of key administrators who come from aristocratic backgrounds, rather than by a cohesive strategy. Administrators who would rule over native populations like Plato’s guardians. A Kitchener in the Sudan, or a Lugard in Nigeria, for example, could rule like a benign dictator with very little supervision from Whitehall. The details in this book are fascinating. Did you know that Kashmir was essentially treated as a land for sale, sold to Gulab Singh in 1846 for £500,000? Or that the seeds for South Sudan’s independence were planted as far back as 1930, when...