"With novelistic sweep and vigor, John Keay reconstructs this epic of expansionist endeavor from the journals and records of the Company's employees. In a panorama ranging from southern Africa to northwest America and from the reign of Elizabeth I to that of Victoria, exotic locations and roguish personalities abound. Empire builders like Robert Clive prove no more principled than interlopers like Thomas Pitt or pirates like Captain Kidd. For every successful foundation like Madras or Calcutta there are a host of forgotten fiascoes in the South China Sea and the Indonesian archipelago." "From Bombay to Singapore to Hong Kong, today's political geography is undeniably the creation of the Company." "John Keay's The Honourable Company is wonderfully written and filled with exciting stories one after another. This is history as lived."--BOOK JACKET.