The book provides a detailed account of the last year of the British Raj; the reactions of princely states towards independence, including descriptions of the colourful and extravagant lifestyles of the Indian princes; the partition of British India (into India and Pakistan) on religious grounds; and the bloodshed that followed. By that I mean the pain endured by people of Punjab and Bengal, the problems faced by the migrants, the communal violence and stuffs. Gandhi had so immersed himself in the lives of India’s masses, sharing their sorrows and sufferings, their daily existence, that he had a unique ability to perceive the mood of his nation.

Mahatma Gandhi was antagonistic to partition while Jinnah wanted a separate Muslim nation at all costs. Independence of India was the defining moment in modern India and this book by the author duo Dominique Lappierre and Larry Collins on the before and after-math of the same is the defining book in my life. All pages of text are present, but they may include extensive notes and highlighting or be heavily stained.Beautifully written to make stories from around the period of independence sound like a collection of creative short stories. 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. The "rich indulgence of Indian kings" has been quoted in great detail, while the atrocities on Indian wealth and citizens by the British have been ignored.

It was all new to me, it was fascinating, fun and relevant - after all at that time Indira Ghandi was prime minister of India (she had no connection with Ghandi but was the daughter of Nehru - I wonder is that all meaningless to anyone reading this, it is amazing as you get older how so many events and people that seemed important have dwindled into obscurity) the world created by the events of 1947 was still very much with us. When it is not engaging however, it is not so because bad narration but because the subject becomes so brutal and horrifying. The book majorly focuses on two men who were behind the Independence, Mountbatten and Mahatma Gandhi, as I told before.

He also makes references to the 'Aryan Invasion Theory' which has been proven incorrect more than once. On 14 August 1947 one-fifth of humanity claimed their independence from the greatest empire history has ever seen. Lapierre is proud that after spending a great deal of time in Jerusalem he knows each alley, square, street, and building in the Holy City intimately. But I do not like the authors telling me that Simla is “a miniature Sussex hamlet,” when of all the earthly things Simla could be, a Sussex hamlet is not one of them. Ebooks fulfilled through Glose cannot be printed, downloaded as PDF, or read in other digital readers (like Kindle or Nook).

Freedom at Midnight paints a sweeping picture of the tumultuous year of India’s independence from Great Britain in 1947 . Well, be rest assured that this book will end up ripping out each of those notions and burning them to cinders.

Lastly, I am sorry if I ended up writing a eulogy instead of an honest critical review, but such is the place of this book in my life, that it is almost impossible for me to view it in a critical way. Attlee whose reform would go on to prove to be fruitful for England, is shown as just another weak and meek bureaucrat. And amused I was with the arrogance with which the prose is written and the misrepresentation of history has been perpetrated through these pages. It details the last year of the British Raj, from 1947 to 1948, beginning with the appointment of Lord Mountbatten of Burma as the last viceroy of British India, and ending with the death and funeral of Mahatma Gandhi.

A book written only to make you like the British Raj, making Mountbatten the hero of all this, being equally praised by the British and Indians. This book changed all my pre-received perceptions, ideas and thoughts about the Indian Independence and the Partition which I have been thinking was the truth all this time. To access your ebook(s) after purchasing, you can download the free Glose app or read instantly on your browser by logging into Glose. The authors interviewed many who were there during the events, including a focus on Lord Mountbatten of Burma.As you read, you'll find a great deal is written about Mahatma Gandhi, the "dejected bird" of Mountbatten, Nehru, the handsome Indian who is incredibly fascinated by the Mountbattens, Jinnah, the only guy who is shown in the bad light, and Patel, well. By the time the Labor Government took office, the English were as tired of argument as the Indians, and Clement Attlee insisted on finishing up the whole epoch. I would recommend this book to all the Indians and Pakistanis to know about our shared emotional history.