At midnight on 14 August 1947, Britain finally granted independence to the peoples of India. Throughout the world, the end of the colonial era was in sight. India was the first great domino to fall, setting off a train of events that was to spread across Asia and Africa, culminating in the collapse of the Soviet Empire. The story of the winning of freedom by the peoples of the Indian empire is one of the great sagas of the 20th century. Bathed in the rosy glow of retrospection, the birth of modern India and Pakistan has come to be regarded in the West as a great achievement, "the proudest day in Britain's history", as predicted by Lord Macauley in 1835. But how justified is the romantic popular image? Was Indian independence a noble gesture by a benevolent colonial power or was freedom wrested from the British by Indian nationalists after more than a quarter of a century of bitter struggle? Was the result a triumph or a tragedy? This book aims to set the record straight.
At midnight on 14 August 1947, Britain finally granted independence to the peoples of India. Throughout the world, the end of the colonial era was in sight. India was the first great domino to fall, setting off a train of events that was to spread across Asia and Africa, culminating in the collapse of the Soviet Empire. The story of the winning of freedom by the peoples of the Indian empire is one of the great sagas of the 20th century. Bathed in the rosy glow of retrospection, the birth of modern India and Pakistan has come to be regarded in the West as a great achievement, "the proudest day in Britain's history", as predicted by Lord Macauley in 1835. But how justified is the romantic popular image? Was Indian independence a noble gesture by a benevolent colonial power or was freedom wrested from the British by Indian nationalists after more than a quarter of a century of bitter struggle? Was the result a triumph or a tragedy? This book aims to set the record straight.
A vivid, colourful and fast-paced account of the events leading up to an Indian independence in 1947. 19980512
Anthony Read and David Fisher had extremely successful careers in television as writers and producers before embarking on their collaboration as authors. The bestselling books include The Fall of Berlin, Berlin- The Biography of a City, Operation Lucy, Colonel Z, The Deadly Embrace and Kristallnacht, for which they were awarded the H.H Wingate Prize in 1989.
A thoroughly splendid history of an exceedingly complicated
subject...Read and fisher review events before the 20th century at
a brisk pace, as a prologue to the great drama spread across three
quarters of their book...and as the narrative proceeds towards the
final act at midnight on 14 August 1947, so it becomes more
scholarly. the characteristics of the principal cast are memorably
presented
*Daily Telegraph*
What Indians needed in their golden jubilee year was some good old
personality-driven political history of the Raj...and that is
exactly what Read and Fisher have done...They have made the most
eventful years of our history as fascinating as they should be
*Indian Sunday Express*
The narrative goes beyond the chronicling of historical fact and
assumes a quality of subtle story-telling. It is well-paced,
intelligent and perceptive, scripted with a measure of the
assurance that bridges the best of fiction and non-fiction writing.
More importantly, there is love and sympathy for its subject, a
human quality is achieved only when the text goes beyond mere
documentation. The quality of writing - its pungency and sense of
theatre - is matched by the rigorousness of the research...One of
the profound epic tales of modern world history
*Financial Times*
A thoroughly splendid history of an exceedingly complicated
subject...Read and fisher review events before the 20th century at
a brisk pace, as a prologue to the great drama spread across three
quarters of their book...and as the narrative proceeds towards the
final act at midnight on 14 August 1947, so it becomes more
scholarly. the characteristics of the principal cast are memorably
presented -- Geoffrey Moorhouse * Daily Telegraph *
What Indians needed in their golden jubilee year was some good old
personality-driven political history of the Raj...and that is
exactly what Read and Fisher have done...They have made the most
eventful years of our history as fascinating as they should be *
Indian Sunday Express *
The narrative goes beyond the chronicling of historical fact and
assumes a quality of subtle story-telling. It is well-paced,
intelligent and perceptive, scripted with a measure of the
assurance that bridges the best of fiction and non-fiction writing.
More importantly, there is love and sympathy for its subject, a
human quality is achieved only when the text goes beyond mere
documentation. The quality of writing - its pungency and sense of
theatre - is matched by the rigorousness of the research...One of
the profound epic tales of modern world history * Financial Times *
|
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
