Freedom at Midnight

A magnificent account of the last stage of India's struggle for independence, the compulsions that made the British (mainly Mountbatten) and the Indian leaders agree to partition, and its bloody aftermath. The account of Gandhi's last days is deeply understanding and profoundly moving, showing how deeply the authors have penetrated into the mind of India and its philosophical and religious well-springs. It is also a unique work, based as it is on face-to-face interviews and conversations with so many of the last remaining witnesses of the era: Mountbatten, definitely, but also a host of retired administrators, associates of the main leaders, ordinary people, and most surprisingly, the remaining members of the Hindutva group that carried show more out the assassination of the Mahatma. A massive book of over 700 pages, one has to finally drive through it with determination in order to keep the thread and reach the end; but the story is such a captivating one, keeping its interest however many times one reads about it, and told with such depth of understanding and personal knowledge, that one is borne along by the narrative, even to the extent of reading all the Notes at the back (something which I have rarely managed with other such tomes). show less

This book is an old classic and I am surprised I had not read it until now. The book is racy and well-paced. You won't find much analysis of the historical events. However, what you get is a fast-paced but biased narration of the events of those fateful years.

The authors appear to be glamour-struck by Mountbatten. Most other books I have read do not portray him in a flattering light.

The sections and detailed narration of Mahatma Gandhi's assassination are good. I learned a few things when I read this part of the book.

Overall, I recommend this book but; it is not perfect. There are a few errors, I believe.

In 1947, the British empire, still devastated from its epic struggle against Hitler's Germany, began the unprecedented process of a global empire self-dismantling. The Indian subcontinent, and its partition into the modern nations of India and Pakistan, was the first and greatest jewel pried from the British crown; and its loss was not without equal measures heroism and villainy, tragedy and triumph.

Having read the authors's previous works "Is Paris Burning?" and "O Jerusalem," this was a natural pickup. The authors are skilled at teasing out the human element in great movements, and at painting the broad themes of history in small brushstrokes of personal recollections. "Freedom at Midnight" is no exception, even when the narrative show more thread (for me) got lost at times in the multiplying thicket of individual tales of savagery and horror from the Punjabi massacres. Even then, the oral histories collected and retained in this volume are invaluable artifacts of a unique time in human history, when both the brutality and the nobility of human nature found expression in a transition of power unrivaled in the annals of history. show less

I problemi sono due, anzi tre: da un lato, il libro, che è scritto modestamente bene, con qualche trucchetto di suspence narrativa, che cerca di mantenere un lieve distacco emotivo dalla Storia, ma non ci riesce; dall'altro il lavoro di ricerca che ci sta dietro, che è immane e minuzioso; infine, la Storia. Incommentabile, non recensibile, solo osservabile. Non serve cercare emozioni nei libri di narrativa, o visioni nei testi di poesia, o nuove conoscenze nei manuali di spiritualità, o incoraggiamenti negli 'how-to' di manageriale memoria, o la storia sui libri di scuola. In queste 500 pagine c'e' la Storia (misconosciuta per l'occidentale medio) di una nazione che è anche Storia dell'umanità intera, della sua cattiveria e degli show more slanci di passione, della dignità umana e della sua meschinità, della miseria che non vivremo mai e degli sfarzi che non vedremo mai. E delle notizie che nessun professore passerebbe ai suoi alunni. C'e una trama che nessun romanziere illuminato avrebbe potuto inventare, con gli slanci poetici di un Gandhi in consunzione fisica e la fierezza e umanità di Nehru e di Mountbatten. C'e la traccia di una spiritualita' che non si puo' capire, ma solo incontrare, al limite. C'è un mondo di morte e di vita che lascia annichiliti per la sua vastita' e potenza.
Quindi, perche' problemi? Perche' la Storia non ha voto, il lavoro di ricerca è ottimo, e il libro necessariamente da 5 stelle. show less

I have to admit I had a love-hate relationship with Freedom at Midnight. At times I found it incredibly interesting while other times it was as boring as taupe. This is the kind of book a historian could really drool over. Often times it reads like a novel in its detail.
My takeaways: It is profound to think that the age old antagonism between the millions of Hindus and millions of Moslems is seemingly irreconcilable and Freedom at Midnight provides a wonderful, if abbreviated, biography of Gandhi.

This is a fascinating book about the Indian Independence and Partition. It has very interesting character sketches of the main players in the process: Mountbatten, Nehru, Gandhi and Jinnah, though I wasn't sure how impartial these views were. It gives a vivid description of the events leading up to independence, and just after it - it's a very readable account rather than a dry factual one. I had never thought about the minutiae of splitting India's assets with Pakistan and the practical aspects of partition, and it's incredible it all happened so fast. The chapter about the maharajas and their strange quirks is all very entertaining. The violence that breaks out after partition is really just horrific, both in the numbers and the show more individual tales - it's just hard to imagine murder being so widespread. And Gandhi is an undeniably unique and strange man with a real gift for bringing people together. Fascinating book anyway, well worth reading. show less

This is not of course the film but the book which was made into the film 'Viceroy's House'. I was not impressed when I saw the cover, a still from the film; or when I saw Mountbatten mentioned in the preface by the ridiculously distorted title 'Admiral of the Fleet Lord Louis Mountbatten, Earl of Burma'; or by the map of 'India on the day of partition, 15 August 1947' which in fact dates from no earlier than 1955 (creation of West Pakistan), and shows an Andhra Pradesh with a boundary that never existed. However, the book far exceeds expectations and is well worth reading, with detailed information about Mountbatten's involvement (drawn from interviews with him) and the murder plot against Gandhi. One does have to take into show more consideration an undercurrent of justification for the British Empire. show less