‘Thoughtful, entertaining and elegantly written … Amid the flood of new books on the making of the British Empire, ‘Leviathan’ stands out as one of the best’ Sunday Times ‘Brilliant … Scott covers several hundred years, and yet the pace never flags. Much of Scott’s picture is familiar from the existing literature but it has never before been put together as such a compelling ensemble. ‘Leviathan’ should be on every school and university booklist’ Sunday Telegraph ‘A sweeping and illuminating account of how English political tumult, economic progress and European overseas exploration drove Britain’s emergence as an imperial power’ Financial Times ‘Epic in scale, shrewd in judgment, utterly convincing, ‘Leviathan’ demands the widest possible readership’ Literary Review ‘One of the best books on the rise of the British Empire’ Sunday Times ‘Magnificent … Scott covers several hundred years and yet the pace never flags, and his pages are lit up with brilliant pen-portraits of the protagonists’ Sunday Telegraph

• A history that covers this historical scope has not appeared in years. • David Scott’s history commands respect as a work of scholarship and is written with a vivacity and enthusiasm that opens the subject up to a wider audience. • Leviathan has been met with excellent reviews, and is currently shortlisted for the Duke of Westminster Medal for Military Literature 2013 Competition: Lawrence James, Andrew Marr, Niall Fergusson, Simon Schama