{"product_id":"liberty-or-death-9780241950401","title":"Liberty or Death","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLiberty or Death\u003c\/i\u003e is Patrick French''s vivid and surprising account of the chaotic final years of colonial rule in India, acclaimed as the definitive book on this subject.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  At midnight on 14 August 1947, Great Britain''s 350-year-old Indian Empire was broken into three pieces. The greatest mass migration in history began, as Muslims fled north and Hindus fled south, and Britain''s role as an imperial power came to an end.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Journeying across India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, Patrick French brings to life a cast of characters including spies, idealists, freedom fighters and politicians from Winston Churchill to Mahatma Gandhi. The result is a compelling story of deal-making, missed opportunities, hope and tragedy.\u003cbr\u003e ''A fine, lucid book ... vividly drawn with novel-like touches'' \u003cbr\u003e  Hanif Kureshi\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  ''Extraordinarily able and nuanced ... a brilliant book on an important subject ... French is the most impressive Western historian of modern India currently at work'' \u003cbr\u003e  \u003ci\u003eHerald\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ''Beautifully written'' \u003cbr\u003e  \u003ci\u003eSunday Times \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ''French is a natural storyteller ... a delightful tale of intrigue, ham-handedness and just plain blundering'' \u003cbr\u003e  \u003ci\u003eIndia Today\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cb\u003ePatrick French\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of \u003ci\u003eIndia: A Portrait\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eYounghusband: The Last Great Imperial Adventurer\u003c\/i\u003e, which won the Somerset Maugham Award and the Royal Society of Literature W. H. Heinemann Prize, \u003ci\u003eTibet, Tibet: A Personal History of a Lost Land, The World Is What It Is: The Authorized Biography of V.S. Naipaul\u003c\/i\u003e, which was shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize and won the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Hawthornden Prize.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA remarkable achievement ... a huge, crowded and kaleidoscopic canvas, which the author handles with remarkable authority ... It is also enormous fun to read * Daily Telegraph *\u003cbr\u003eA fine, lucid book ... vividly drawn with novel-like touches -- Hanif Kureshi\u003cbr\u003eBeautifully written * Sunday Times *\u003cbr\u003eFrench is a natural storyteller ... a delightful tale of intrigue, ham-handedness and just plain blundering * India Today *","brand":"Penguin Books Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51017705488727,"sku":"9780241950401","price":13.49,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780241950401.jpg?v=1750774396","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/liberty-or-death-9780241950401","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}