Shameful Flight: The Last Years of the British Empire in India - Softcover

Wolpert, Stanley

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0195393945 ISBN 13: 9780195393941

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA, 2009

Synopsis

Shameful Flight Ranging from the fall of Singapore in 1942 to the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi in 1948, this text provides a vivid behind-the-scenes look at Britain's decision to divest itself from the crown jewel of its empire. Wolpert, a leading authority on Indian history, paints memorable portraits of all the key participants. Full description

About this title

Review:

"The independence of India and Pakistan in 1947 was a historical watershed that marked the end of the colonial era and the beginning of the liberation of the rest of Asia and of Africa. In his admirable account of this seminal event, Wolpert makes the compelling case that whereas independence and
partition were inevitable, the horrible cost in the destruction of lives was not. He attributes the latter to a failure of political leadership, especially the British through its representative Viceroy Mountbatten, whose compulsive and egotistical conduct constituted a major contribution to the
massive human disaster. This is a clinically powerful study of triumph and tragedy by a distinguished historian who is also a great humanitarian." --Jamsheed Marker, Former Ambassador of Pakistan and former Special Adviser to the Secretary General, United Nations
"In this engrossing, but very controversial, book, Wolpert considers the responsibility of the leaders, both British and Indian, for the immediate consequences of the partition in 1947 of British India into India and Pakistan when hundreds of thousands were killed in riots and millions became
homeless refugees. Shameful Flight is sobering reading for anyone interested in the rise and fall of Western imperialism." --Ainslee Embree, Columbia University
"Wolpert's book is a delightful read and will shine for its stellar quality of scholarship among the growing body of partition literature that has surfaced in the last two decades. It will be of great interest to anyone curious about whatever happened to the great British Empire and those who often
wonder why Indians and Pakistanisendlessly fight with each other." --Dilip Basu, University of California, Santa Cruz
"The independence of India and Pakistan in 1947 was a historical watershed that marked the end of the colonial era and the beginning of the liberation of the rest of Asia and of Africa. In his admirable account of this seminal event, Wolpert makes the compelling case that whereas independence and
partition were inevitable, the horrible cost in the destruction of lives was not. He attributes the latter to a failure of political leadership, especially the British through its representative Viceroy Mountbatten, whose compulsive and egotistical conduct constituted a major contribution to the
massive human disaster. This is a clinically powerful study of triumph and tragedy by a distinguished historian who is also a great humanitarian." --Jamsheed Marker, Former Ambassador of Pakistan and former Special Adviser to the Secretary General, United Nations
"In this engrossing, but very controversial, book, Wolpert considers the responsibility of the leaders, both British and Indian, for the immediate consequences of the partition in 1947 of British India into India and Pakistan when hundreds of thousands were killed in riots and millions became
homeless refugees. Shameful Flight is sobering reading for anyone interested in the rise and fall of Western imperialism." --Ainslee Embree, Columbia University
"Wolpert's book is a delightful read and will shine for its stellar quality of scholarship among the growing body of partition literature that has surfaced in the last two decades. It will be of great interest to anyone curious about whatever happened to the great British Empire and those who often
wonder why Indians and Pakistanis endlessly fight with each other." --DilipBasu, University of California, Santa Cruz
"An entertaining and highly controversial account of the British transfer of power in India."The International History Review
"The independence of India and Pakistan in 1947 was a historical watershed that marked the end of the colonial era and the beginning of the liberation of the rest of Asia and of Africa. In his admirable account of this seminal event, Wolpert makes the compelling case that whereas independence and partition were inevitable, the horrible cost in the destruction of lives was not. He attributes the latter to a failure of political leadership, especially the British through its representative Viceroy Mountbatten, whose compulsive and egotistical conduct constituted a major contribution to the massive human disaster. This is a clinically powerful study of triumph and tragedy by a distinguished historian who is also a great humanitarian." --Jamsheed Marker, Former Ambassador of Pakistan and former Special Adviser to the Secretary General, United Nations
"In this engrossing, but very controversial, book, Wolpert considers the responsibility of the leaders, both British and Indian, for the immediate consequences of the partition in 1947 of British India into India and Pakistan when hundreds of thousands were killed in riots and millions became homeless refugees. Shameful Flight is sobering reading for anyone interested in the rise and fall of Western imperialism." --Ainslee Embree, Columbia University
"Wolpert's book is a delightful read and will shine for its stellar quality of scholarship among the growing body of partition literature that has surfaced in the last two decades. It will be of great interest to anyone curious about whatever happened to the great British Empire and those who often wonder why Indians and Pakistanis endlessly fight with each other." --Dilip Basu, University of California, Santa Cruz
"An entertaining and highly controversial account of the British transfer of power in India."The International History Review
"The independence of India and Pakistan in 1947 was a historical watershed that marked the end of the colonial era and the beginning of the liberation of the rest of Asia and of Africa. In his admirable account of this seminal event, Wolpert makes the compelling case that whereas independence and partition were inevitable, the horrible cost in the destruction of lives was not. He attributes the latter to a failure of political leadership, especially the British through its representative Viceroy Mountbatten, whose compulsive and egotistical conduct constituted a major contribution to the massive human disaster. This is a clinically powerful study of triumph and tragedy by a distinguished historian who is also a great humanitarian." --Jamsheed Marker, Former Ambassador of Pakistan and former Special Adviser to the Secretary General, United Nations

"In this engrossing, but very controversial, book, Wolpert considers the responsibility of the leaders, both British and Indian, for the immediate consequences of the partition in 1947 of British India into India and Pakistan when hundreds of thousands were killed in riots and millions became homeless refugees. Shameful Flight is sobering reading for anyone interested in the rise and fall of Western imperialism."--Ainslee Embree, Columbia University

"Wolpert's book is a delightful read and will shine for its stellar quality of scholarship among the growing body of partition literature that has surfaced in the last two decades. It will be of great interest to anyone curious about whatever happened to the great British Empire and those who often wonder why Indians and Pakistanis endlessly fight with each other."--Dilip Basu, University of California, Santa Cruz

"An entertaining and highly controversial account of the British transfer of power in India."--The International History Review

"A lively...account of the end of the British Raj...The text is well crafted." -- H-Net

"The independence of India and Pakistan in 1947 was a historical watershed that marked the end of the colonial era and the beginning of the liberation of the rest of Asia and of Africa. In his admirable account of this seminal event, Wolpert makes the compelling case that whereas independence and partition were inevitable, the horrible cost in the destruction of lives was not. He attributes the latter to a failure of political leadership, especially the British through its representative Viceroy Mountbatten, whose compulsive and egotistical conduct constituted a major contribution to the massive human disaster. This is a clinically powerful study of triumph and tragedy by a distinguished historian who is also a great humanitarian."--Jamsheed Marker, Former Ambassador of Pakistan and former Special Adviser to the Secretary General, United Nations

"In this engrossing, but very controversial, book, Wolpert considers the responsibility of the leaders, both British and Indian, for the immediate consequences of the partition in 1947 of British India into India and Pakistan when hundreds of thousands were killed in riots and millions became homeless refugees. Shameful Flight is sobering reading for anyone interested in the rise and fall of Western imperialism."--Ainslee Embree, Columbia University

"Wolpert's book is a delightful read and will shine for its stellar quality of scholarship among the growing body of partition literature that has surfaced in the last two decades. It will be of great interest to anyone curious about whatever happened to the great British Empire and those who often wonder why Indians and Pakistanis endlessly fight with each other."--Dilip Basu, University of California, Santa Cruz

"An entertaining and highly controversial account of the British transfer of power in India."--The International History Review

"A lively...account of the end of the British Raj...The text is well crafted."--H-Net

About the Author:

Stanley Wolpert is Professor of History Emeritus at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is the author of Gandhi's Passion, Nehru: A Tryst With Destiny, Jinnah of Pakistan, and A New History of India.

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0195393945
• ISBN 13: 9780195393941
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 238