Book excerpt: The empire mentioned in the title is none other than the British Empire, which during the time the book was written, was at a period referred to as Britain's "imperial century" by some historians, having around 10 million sq mi (26 million km2) of territory and roughly 400 million people living within the boundaries of what was then called the British Empire. The author here shines the spotlight on the men who made it possible - from the times of Edward I of England to those of Cecil Rhodes.