This compelling and important history of the British Empire, told from the perspective of 20 people who lived through it, tells the story of one of the largest and most powerful empires in human history. At one time, the British Empire ruled over almost a quarter of the world's population. Men, women and children from all walks of life and from across the globe were affected in big and small ways, from the clothes they wore, the food they ate and the languages they spoke to the work they did and the rights they held.