V.G. Kiernan is recognized as one of the most remarkable historians of the twentieth century. Eric Hobsbawm says of Kiernan that his knowledge is "encyclopedic" and Edward Said refers to his writings on imperialism as "milestones." In Imperialism and Its Contradictions, Kiernan critically addresses the origins, consequences and legacies of modern imperialism and colonialism, discussing the imperial experience in its totality.

Sensitive to the tragic and ironic character of human history, Kiernan considers and reflects upon the political, economic and cultural dimensions of the imperial experience and how it has shaped the lives and social orders of Europeans and non-Europeans alike.

Issues treated in Imperialism and Its Contradictions include the question of the relationship between the rise of capitalism and the making of Europe's overseas empires; the creation of colonial armies and their political uses; the dialectic of imperialism and revolution; the impact of imperialism on European culture; and the social and cultural problems confronting a post-imperial and multicultural Britain. The book also includes Kiernan's discussion of the work of Antonio Gramsci and its implications for the study of imperialism.