Posted 30 September 2003

Published as a volume in Palgrave’s British Studies Series - the only one so far to have a substantial focus on the United States - Howard Temperley’s concise book provides a welcome and timely overview of the evolving relationship between Great Britain and America over the last two centuries and more. In many respects, it follows in the traditions of H.C.Allen’s influential work of a half-century ago Great Britain and the United States: A History of Anglo-American Relations 1783-1952. But it does more than simply bring the story up to date, for Temperley looks at the whole question from the vantage point of the early twenty-first century and, in addition, writes in a style (and, one might add, at a length) which is more attuned to the modern student. Most other books that have dealt with Anglo-American relations in recent decades have dealt almost exclusively with the twentieth century, so it is particularly valuable for teachers to have a book which has a much longer time frame.

The book, as one might expect, is organised chronologically looking in turn at the colonial legacy, the troubled early national period, and at the era between the War of 1812 and the Civil War during which, Temperley reminds us, Britain ‘remained the metropolitan power, and as such continued to influence [American] affairs in more ways than they cared to admit or perhaps were even aware’ (p.37). He then examines the period of rapprochement before World War I prior to embarking on an exploration of the so-called special relationship of the twentieth century. Like Harry Allen before him, Howard Temperley devotes some of his most searching analysis to the vexed question of the United States and the European Union and, in particular, to where Britain ought to be positioned. As the author suggests: ‘The deeply engrained Atlanticism of the British makes full integration into a continental system hard to accept.’ He concludes, contentiously, that ‘being not quite American, yet not quite European either, there are worse positions to be in than having a foot in both camps’ (p.224).

There is little in this book that is truly pathbreaking, but its assured, elegant, yet unpretentious style makes it a very attractive read. It is based on sound scholarship (although some may be surprised to see Bill Bryson invoked) and on a lifetime’s devotion to Anglo-American themes. It is ideal for students taking A-level and Access courses as well as for undergraduates seeking better to understand the relationship between Great Britain and the United States. Its price will probably dictate that it will be housed in the college library rather than in the study-bedroom. But it should have an important place there for years to come.

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