E. A. Benians – författare

The publication in 1933 of the Australia volume of the Cambridge History of the British Empire was a landmark in historical interpretation of the nation and its place in the world. To coincide with the Australian Bicentenary in 1988, Cambridge University Press reissued this book in an unaltered edition. For this reissue Professor Geoffrey Bolton contributed a specially commissioned introduction assessing the importance, historical context and legacy of the volume.

First published in 1946, and originally delivered in 1944 as a lecture to students of Bedford College, London, who had been evacuated to Cambridge, this book provides 'a historical sketch of the intermingling of the peoples in the making of the American Nation'. Benians examines what role played by race in the history of America, a country not based on racial foundations but upon the liberal notion of freedom. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in the impact of race on the development of the United States.

Ernest Alfred Benians (1880-1952) was a British scholar and historian who held various key positions within the University of Cambridge. He was Master of St John's College from 1933 to 1952 and Vice-Chancellor of the University from 1939 to 1941. First published in 1943, the content of this book was derived from a series of four lectures delivered by Benians in Cambridge. The text provides a summary of American history, from the origins of the United States as nation through to the developments of the first part of the twentieth century. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in perspectives on American historical development.