Jeremy Paxman's 2011 BBC TV series "Empire" was an immense hit across all age groups, its irresistible combination of Paxman's acerbic, drier-than-dust wit, wide-ranging research and eye for the unusual grabbing and keeping the attention. The influence of the British Empire is everywhere, from the very existence of the United Kingdom to the ethnic makeup of our cities. It affects the PM's decision whether to send in troops somewhere, the sports we and much of the world play, the architecture of our buildings, our laws and the food we love, and a great deal more besides. In analysing these profound and lasting effects, Paxman brings the triumph and disaster, comedy and tragedy of Empire brilliantly to life, as only he can. From the selection of colonial officers - "intended to weed out the cad, the feeble and the too clever" - to the life of the successful candidate's wife - "to grasp the fleeting moment between toughness and putrefaction when the joint [of meat] may possibly prove eatable" and from the importance of sport to the crazy mission of General Gordon ("courageous, self-reliant and slightly loopy") to Khartoum and his subsequent gruesome death, this is absolutely unputdownable. If only history at school had been this enjoyable…356pp with b/w maps and other illus.