Book excerpt: By the end of the 18th century – following an era which had seen the world increasingly divided into colonial powers and their victims – the Ch'ing dynasty of the Manchus, who had overthrown the native Ming in the 1640s, ruled over the largest and most populous empire in the world, with territories that had doubled in size in the previous few decades. Chris Peers' engaging study of the late imperial Chinese armies from 1520 to 1840 is supported by a wealth of illustrations and photographs, including eight attractive full page colour plates by Christa Hook.