Liberty Or Death Av Patrick (Author) French

<b><i>Liberty or Death</i> 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.</b><br><br> 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.<br><br> 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.<br> ''A fine, lucid book ... vividly drawn with novel-like touches'' <br>  Hanif Kureshi<br><br> ''Extraordinarily able and nuanced ... a brilliant book on an important subject ... French is the most impressive Western historian of modern Indi