Keith Wilson, professor or the History of International Politics at the University of Leeds, argues in this book that the traditional notions of the British Empire’s world view at the beginning of the twentieth century are fundamentally wrong. Wilson does not see 1904 as the point at which Britain refocused on European issues. Instead, Wilson documents how the British did not see Europe as its main commitment in the years leading up to the First World War. Therefore, he concentrates on British foreign and military policy with respect to defending the Empire, whether it be through negotiations with Japan or the necessity of protecting India. He also deconstructs the Anglo-French agreements in the early twentieth century to show that the view of them as great military alliances. Wilson advises against the anachronistic view of a ‘eurocentric’ British Empire.