Indian summer : the secret history of the end of an empire / Alex von Tunzelmann.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Von Tunzelmann, Alex, 1977-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

History.

India--History--Partition, 1947--Biography.

India.

Statesmen--India--Biography.

Statesmen.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

x, 401 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Henry Holt and Co., 2007.

Summary:

At midnight on August 15, 1947, 400 million people were liberated from the British Empire. With the loss of India, its greatest colony, Britain ceased to be a superpower. This defining moment was brought about by a handful of people: Jawaharlal Nehru, the fiery Indian prime minister; Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the leader of the new Islamic Republic of Pakistan; Mohandas Gandhi, the mystical figure who enthralled a nation; and Louis and Edwina Mountbatten, the glamorous but unlikely couple sent to get Britain out of India. Within hours, their dreams would turn to chaos, bloodshed, and war. Behind the scenes, a secret personal drama was also unfolding, as Edwina Mountbatten and Jawaharlal Nehru began a passionate love affair. Their romance developed alongside Cold War conspiracies, the beginning of a terrible conflict in Kashmir, and an epic sweep of events that saw one million people killed and ten million dispossessed.--From publisher description.

Contents:

A tryst with destiny

In their gratitude our best reward

Mohan and Jawahar

Civis britannicus sum

Dreaming of the east

Private lives

We want no Caesars

Power without responsibility

A new theater

Now or never

Operation madhouse

A barrel of gunpowder

Lightning speed is much too slow

A full basket of apples

A rainbow in the sky

Paradise on earth

The battle for Delhi

Kashmir

Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow

A kiss good-bye

Echoes.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [375]-382) and index.

ISBN:

9780805080735

0805080732

OCLC:

81945363

Online:

Contributor biographical information

Publisher description