I am glad I bought this book. There is nothing new here for the reader well versed in the history of India. However, the language and presentation model is quite brisk and makes for a easy read. The material is fairly encompassing given that the purpose of the book is for the general reader. I found the narrative both interesting and fast moving. A good start for someone desiring to know present day India.

Given that so much has been written on the movement towards independence already in the last few years, I came with skepticism to this book, given that neither of the authors had significant experience in Indian history before. This becomes clear in their research and writing, which at times seems to borrow too extensively from prior works and in effect surveys previous surveys. Nonetheless, The Proudest Day accomplishes one singular feat: it paints a coherent story of more than 60 years of struggle, full of coloured yet flawed personalities such as Jinnah and Gahndi and momentous occasions, from the Amritsar Massacre to the endgame hysteria after WWII. It gives form to what more than anything was a series of stop and goes over a half a century.

Much of the author's criticism of the main protagonists is not new. The myth of Gahndi's pacifism is debunked. In Nehru's uncompromising idealism, the authors lay the blame for eventual partition. Jinnah is the consumate lawyer, manipulating and playing with legal vagueries. But it is for Mountbatten and the Congress hard-liners that the harshest criticism is reserved. Partition comes down to one missed chance in the summer of 1946. Whether or not in the emotional-charged atmosphere of Indian-Pakistan history you accept this proposition, the authors succeed in leaving that bitter feeling in the reader's mind- that partition, the holocaust that ensued after August 1947 in Punjab, and years of ensuing conflict could have all been avoided even after 50+ years of heated struggle if only in that last instance, the main protagonists laid aside their prior histories, showed their courage and seized the moment.

An exellent book delaing with the Indian independence movement.
It starts with the British massacre of hundreds of Indians attending a peaceful meeting in Jallianwallah Bagh, which tuned the tide and ends with division of of the subcontinent into Muslin Pakistan and more secular India and the loss of millions of lives on both sides of the devide during the ensuing riots, and the birth of the the Indepenedent Inida and Pakistan. The book colorfully portrays the charecters involved in the drama-the likes of Jinnah the father of modern Pakistan, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawahrlal Nehru and Mountabatten and their arrogance and vanity, Gandhi's apparent dislike of Jinnah from the very begining and his non-democratic management of the congress party. Jinnah was a secular muslim and in the begining it was not his intention to carve a seperate Islamic Pakistan from the Indian subcontinent. The dogmatic refusal to accept the Cripps Mission, whose offer of the dominion status would have saved the division of the subcontinent and subsequent loss of millions of lives. The initial arrogance and later withdrawl of the British in a hurry without a great deal of thought resulting not only the worst religiously motivated riots and massive loss of lives and boarder problems between India and Pakistan. Only the common people of India emerge as the heroes in this book. It is a well researched thoughtfully written book and it should be read by any with an interest in the subcontinent.

I think what I appreciate most about this book was that it didn't focus only on the battles of World War II or the major personalities, but it examines the lives of everyday Berliners and those who lived through the city's triumphs and tragedies. The book containes the narratives of Berliners from all walks of life; the factory workers, socialites, refugees, soldiers, Jews, etc. The book examines the War through the eyes of those who experienced it first hand, but whose voices have been muted in the presence of the big names in history. This certainly isn't an earth shattering revelation, but the book is a nice addition to anyone's historical knowledge.

Starting with the Olympics of 1936, authors Read and Fisher chronicle the history of Berlin during the years prior to World War II and ending with the Battle of Berlin. Focusing not only on the known historical players such as Hitler and Goebbels, but including excerpts from diaries of every day Berliners, the book reads almost like a novel with a cast of thousands. At first, Berliners are stunned that Hitler is able to conqueror most of continental Europe through sheer bravado alone. The general consensus seems to be that eventually the world will see Hitler and the Nazis for what they really are and sanity will once again prevail. But of course, we can now look back in hindsight and realize that the complacency of the general population and the other world leaders is precisely what led to Hitler wreaking havoc on the world.

Most of the chapters are very short, no more than 3-4 pages long. This help keeps the pace of the book from bogging down into too much detail. Much information is given on the daily life of Berliners, how ration cards worked, etc. In addition, the authors do an excellent job of describing how different groups, Jews, immigrants, forced laborers, Hitler Youth, etc. reacted to the changing world as eventually Berlin spiraled into chaos. The innumerable bombings, which nightly rocked the city, are described in detail and how the city reacted, as first stunned and then eventually immune to the terror. The first 200 pages of the book cover the years from 1936 until March, 1945 while the remaining 250 pages detail the Battle of Berlin. Through complicated political considerations, the Soviets are allowed to conquer the city while the British and American troops hold back. Because the Soviet Union suffered so much during the war, especially the siege of Stalingrad, it is deemed only fitting that they make the first attempt on the city. The first wave of soldiers were professionals while the second wave of soldiers-former prisoners of the Germans, took out their hatred in raping, looting and pillaging. In the first 8 weeks after the fall of Berlin, over 90,000 German women had seen doctors due being raped by the Soviet soldiers. How many never reported this crime cannot even be estimated.

I would highly recommend this book to any student of World War II history who wants a good grasp of the social and political effects of war on a major industrialized city. Well written and well documented, the book allows readers to relive one of the most horrific time periods in modern history. It also allows the reader to better understand how the Nazis maintained their power until the very end over an educated populace. Hopefully lessons such as these will not go unheeded for future generations.

This is a wonderful book. I'm really surprised there hasn't been a movie or mini-series made of this story. This may bring back the TV mini-series if marketed properly.

Little tidbits that I hadn't known about before. The attitude of the people of Berlin during the bombings; the story about Goering(?) going down to the subways during the bombing and making jokes; the description of Zossen; the Zoo flak tower; the last dyas of Hitler, etc. A very interesting read for a long, detailed novel.

The Treasury Department announced that it was stopping production of the latest dollar coin, the little thick gold one with Sacagawea on it, which reminds some of us of the previous dollar coin, the not quite round Susan B. Anthony dollar that debuted in 1979. I always thought there was an important similarity between Anthony's fight for women's rights and the failed dollar that bore her image: both were good ideas whose time has not yet come. You would think that the practicality of the silver dollar would be clear every time people try to smooth out a paper dollar to use in a vending machine; one pound coins work just great in Britain. But the American people are stubborn about the status quo, which Anthony discovered throughout her life as she fought for equality, not just between the sexes but in terms of races as well. This juvenile biography by Lucile Davis tells young readers about how Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton worked together for 51 years trying to achieve their goal. In 1872 Anthony was arrested by trying to vote, but it was not until 1920, fourteen years after Anthony's death, that the 19th Amendment was finally adopted providing for woman suffrage. However, because of her life long effort it was still Anthony's name that was associated with that amendment. Young readers are confronted with a life devoted to an important struggle for over half a century that does not succeed until after the subject of the biography has died, which I would consider an atypical but worthwhile example of a life well led. Davis covers all of the key details from Anthony's life and the back of the book includes some choice quotes by Anthony, a list of important dates in her life, a glossary, short bibliography, useful addresses and internet sites, and an index. Other similar titles in the Photo-Illustrated Biographies series are devoted to Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott and Amelia Bloomer.