Freedom at Midnight by Larry Collins (PDF)

Description

“There is no single passage in this profoundly researched book that one could actually fault. Having been there most of the time in question and having assisted at most of the encounters, I can vouch for the accuracy of its general mood. It is a work of scholarship, of investigation, research and of significance.”—James Cameron, The New York Sunday Times“Freedom at Midnight is a panoramic spectacular of a book that reads more like sensational fiction than like history, even though it is all true….. The narrative is as lively, as informative and as richly detailed as a maharaja’s palace.”—Judson Hand, The New York Daily News“Outrageously and endlessly fascinating is my awestruck reaction to Freedom at Midnight. The new sure-to-be bestseller by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre. It is all here: maharajas and tigers, filth and squalor, extravagance and macabre sex, massacres, smells, starvation, cruelty and heroism. Collins and Lapierre have made human history breathtaking and heartbreaking.”—Margaret Manning, The Boston Globe “No subject, I thought, as I picked up Freedom at Midnight, could be of less interest to me than a story of how Independence came to India after three centuries of British rule. I opened the book and began to flip through the photographs: here was a picture of Gandhi dressed in his loincloth going to have tea with the King of England; there was a picture of a maharaja being measured against his weight in gold; and another of thousands of vultures devouring corpses in the street. I began to read, fascinated. Here was the whole chronicle illustrated with anecdotes and masterful character sketches of how the British had come to India, how they had ruled it and how, finally, compelled by the force of economics and history, they had been forced to leave it divided…… Collins and Lapierre are such good writers that their books are so interesting that they are impossible to put down.”—J.M. Sanchez, The Houston Chronicle***The end of an empire. The birth of two nations.Seventy years ago, at midnight on August 14, 1947, the Union Jack began its final journey down the flagstaff of Viceroy’s House, New Delhi. A fifth of humanity claimed their independence from the greatest empire history has ever seen—but the price of freedom was high, as a nation erupted into riots and bloodshed, partition and war.Freedom at Midnight is the true story of the events surrounding Indian independence, beginning with the appointment of Lord Mountbatten of Burma as the last Viceroy of British India, and ending with the assassination and funeral of Mahatma Gandhi. The book was an international bestseller and achieved enormous acclaim in the United States, Italy, Spain, and France.This edition contains 20 black-and-white photos, five maps, a full bibliography, extensive notes, and a dedication from Dominique Lapierre to the memory of his longtime writing partner Larry Collins.***About the Authors – Larry Collins & Dominique LapierreThe enormous success of the international writing partnership of Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre was based on the phenomenal bestsellers Is Paris Burning?, Or I’ll Dress You in Mourning, O Jerusalem!, Freedom at Midnight, and The Fifth Horseman. The last-named work was their fifth novel. Collins and Lapierre were a unique team in that each wrote in his own language and their works were then published simultaneously in French and English before being translated into sixteen other languages. Their work was distinguished by immense attention to detail and thorough research. Since the publication of their last joint work, The Fifth Horseman, Collins has published three bestselling novels, Fall From Grace, Maze, and Black Eagles, while Lapierre published two nonfiction bestsellers, The City of Joy and Beyond Love.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐My dear friend Shekhar Dasgupta alluded to this book when we were discussing something else, and what a GEM he revealed. I read and underlined and bookmarked throughout, gleaning shocking and riveting details of those years.A narrative not to be missed for anyone who cares for history.Thanks LC & DLP

⭐Collins and Lapierre’s “Freedom At Midnight” is the classic history of the 1947 Partition of India into India and Pakistan, the plight of its refugees, the plotting of, and the fact of Gandhi’s 1948 assassination. The storyline is chronological, non judgmental, heroic in parts, bordering as fictive; the descriptive detail can exhaust. To deny its accuracy makes little sense as the history is so compelling, engraved, and sad. Their sources are clearly based on the Mountbatten archives, so any criticism of the monumental decision making on the geographical lines for the Partition is muted. The Kindle format can be trying at times; photographs are few and there is only one map. Online searches can bring up most of the famous images and maps of this historic event.

⭐This book is a fascinating and deeply moving account of one of the seminal events in world history, the emergence of India and Pakistan as sovereign nations. Collins and LaPierre, in their infinitely researched, nuanced account of the independence of the Indian subcontinent, relate their story in prose that approaches the lyrical rhythm of poetry. Some may take issue with the point of view of the account, insisting that it is written primarily from the British line of sight, but regardless of any bias, it so beautifully and successfully relates the stories of those in the highest seats of power and the impact of their often wrenching decisions on the common person.I have always held that in order for history to teach us, it must be delivered in a form that seduces us into understanding it. By developing the characters whom most of us already know – Gandhi, Nehru, Mountbatten, Jinnah, Churchill – we find ourselves in the venues of the account as quiet observers as the die is cast to deliver India to its destiny. The book underscores the power of language, with excerpts from the inimitable speeches delivered extemporaneously by Nehru, in quick succession, upon the birth of the nation, and ultimately the death of its father.It is also a cautionary tale for the present, by showing so clearly how false distinctions between people, riven by such things as religion, wealth, and power, can so readily cause diverse communities living in harmony for centuries to shatter the peacefulness of their coexistence and turn on each other in abhorrent communal violence at a moment’s notice, leaving us stunned and questioning our humanity. Perhaps this understanding can encourage us not to repeat this insanity.A marvelous book – highly recommended.

⭐The book Freedom at Midnight is a classic. It is beautifully written and meticulously researched. The information, the insights, the humanity it portrays of one of history’s most important events are impeccable. BUT…..I have never in all my Kindle-reading years encountered such an unmitigated mess of terrible editing and typos. There are periods in the middles of sentences, quotation marks without their partners, question marks just because. I cannot fathom how such butchery happened to the digital version of this incredible book, why nobody caught the problems and errors, or how the person responsible could possibly still be employed in the digital book business. Please note: The 4 star rating is due SOLELY to the editing nightmare. Simply a MESS.

⭐Great book almost ruined by the poor quality of the Kindle edition. There are typos on every page and it doesn’t appear to have been proof read at all.I think I’ll give up on the Kindle edition and buy a hard copy.

⭐Very well written about an important event in history of which much is not known.

⭐Having read the original many times, I was astonished and distressed at the sheer number of grammatical errors, wrong words and just plain typos in the Kindle version of this classic. Its a clear reflection of the incompetence of the proof-readers…if they existed at all.

⭐When it comes to writing about the Independence of India and the partitioning of the country that happened with it, it is hard to find a neutral source of information. Luckily ‘Freedom at Midnight’ is one such source. Unfortunately, with neutrality comes the perspective of someone outside looking in, which is also what happens in this book.That being said, this book is a MUST read for all fans of history and people interested in understanding Pakistan-India dynamics and the culture of the sub-continent. The one issue I have with the book is the glorification of the role that Mountbatten and Gandhi played in the aforementioned events. There is in some sense, a simplification of their actions and intent. The reality (at least as perceived by citizens of the two countries) is much more complicated. Gandhi’s own auto-biography is more revealing, nuanced and provides a better insight into the thoughts (many naive or unsavory) of India’s great leader.The final aspect, which should make this a fun read for everyone (including people who are not fans of history) is the colorful and detailed description of the (often futile and vain) life of Indian nobility. If you ever wondered what (unimaginably crazy) life the Indian princes enjoyed, make sure you read the book.

⭐The book is basically a love letter to Louis Mountbatten and M.K gandhi and justification of the British Raj. The author himself admits that the book is pro-Mountbatten. Furthermore,the authors seemed to try their best to convince the readers that louis mountbatten’s efforts to keep India United somehow negated all the atrocities committed by the british raj until then,especially all the time spent planting divisions or widening them to grant their divide and conquer policy immortality , all the lives it has taken and all the assets and wealth of the GOLDEN BIRD , the great britain had looted. However, much of Louis mountbatten’s anxiety and intent to keep India united stems from the responsibility that rested on his shoulders to not make the great britain , the villain as the imperial empire was coming to an end. The writing is good though.

⭐This book depicts the last Viceroy of India as a pragmatic stateman and administrator instead of a new aged failed and biased manager that he was, in love with Nehru and Gandhi and Hindu myusticism. Where do we start interfering in the Redcliffe boundary commission by providing swathes of Muslims contiguous territory to India thus facilitating Kashmir accession? Gurdaspur, Pathankot…you name it and Mountbatten gave it. Let’s not forget Mountbatten was the man Nehru and Congress wanted for the Partition (Krishna Patel’s secret meeting with Stafford Crips in London).Ridicules Churchill, scornful towards Jinnah, completely and utterly ignore the role of Dr. Muhammad Iqbal the poet philosopher that conceived the idea of Pakistan even before Rehmat Ali.This might as well had been penned by Lois Mountbatten himself, for the self aggrandising is too conspicuous even for a blind Indian beggar.

⭐First read this book over 30 years ago, and decided to read it again given that this year marks the 70th anniversary of the partition of India. Reading it again once again proved that Freedom at Midnight continues to remain the definitive book for those readers seeking to understand the events that led to the the most monumental ‘divorce’ in history, but through a book that is extremely ‘easy’ to read, given the style it was written in, a hallmark of the style of its authors, Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre.

⭐The transcription from the book into Kindle Edition is littered with spelling errors and odd characters inserted in random places that it is obvious that no one physically checked the computer transcription. The original book is excellent.

⭐Content = 5 Stars. Love this book and I’m reading it for the second time.Layout = 2 Stars. I’ve never read a book with so many spelling mistakes, symbols where letters should be and grammatical errors.

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