Review by Booklist Review
The seizing and maintenance of a vast empire is generally brutal, but it tends to provide a greatly exciting story when told by a skilled writer. James, a specialist in British imperial history, writes a stirring account of the three centuries of British influence in and control of the Indian subcontinent. His descriptions of the icons of the Raj, from Clive to Curzon, display both insight and a critical eye. Although such episodes as the great mutiny are essentially familiar to specialists, general readers will benefit greatly from James' ability to make complicated events decipherable. James is an unabashed and unapologetic admirer of the Raj, so he tends to gloss over the seamier aspects of British rule. Still, this is a beautifully written examination of a glittering "jewel" of imperialism and of an age that seemed to produce a fascinating variety of "heroes." --Jay Freeman
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Even though James gives relatively short shrift to the period between the battle of Plassey (1757) and the second Maratha war (1817-1818), when the East India Company used arms and bribery to take over the Indian subcontinent, this is still a big book. But for what the British historian and author of The Rise and Fall of the British Empire wanted to do, it had to be big. James is a very lucid writer on a variety of topics, whether military, economic, social or political. His primary interest has been military history and it shows here. While not every reader will be fascinated by detailed descriptions of, say, military maneuvers of Sikh wars, these same details add intensity to the narrative of the Indian Mutiny (1857-59); the Great Game, that tortuous Anglo-Russian squabble over Afghanistan; or the doings of Subhas Chandra Bose during WWII. Opting against a simple chronology, James works in chapters on the position of Indian princes in the Raj, the differences between British and Indian sexuality and the romanticized, Kipling-esque vision of India that pervaded Britain in the early 20th century. There is a great deal about Britain here: the reception back home of newly rich Nabobs (a corruption of nawab); the British reaction to reports of the Indian Mutiny and the 1919 Amritsar massacre; the irreconcilable friction between Britain's devotion to economic expediency and liberal paternalism. In fact, some may find that the emphasis is a little too much on the "British" of the subtitle and not enough on the "India," but James presents a consistently intriguing take on a deeply complicated history. (Dec.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
After writing several acclaimed histories primarily focused on British imperial military history, James (The Rise and Fall of the British Empire, St. Martin's, 1996) now concentrates on India, the old Empire's cornerstone. With an orientation to historical narrative instead of analysis, the work often raises questions it does not answer. Military perspectives dominate, but James fails to show the relationship between government and the military. Hardly anyone receives favorable discussion in this "revisionist" recounting of the Raj's rise and fall, while crucial figures (Clive, Hastings, Gandhi, Mountbatten) are treated shabbily. Nehru, strangely, is hardly mentioned. Military buffs might like this rather long history, but those interested in an impartial treatment will be better served by other recent titles, e.g., Shashi Tharoor's From Midnight to the Millennium (LJ 6/1/97).Donald Johnson, Univ. of Minnesota Lib., Minneapolis (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A pungent epic history of two lands locked in imperial embrace and disdain for two centuries, from British historian and biographer James (The Rise and Fall of the British Empire, 1996; The Golden Warrior, 1993, etc.). From the victory of East India Company representative Robert Clive at Plassey in 1757 to the bloody partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, Britain struggled with contradictory emotions aroused by her entry into and withdrawal from the subcontinent. Winston Churchill's opinion that the Raj was the finest achievement'' of his countrymen was not universally held even in Britain, as evidenced by periodic rancorous parliamentary debates over the corruption and abuse of force sometimes employed in India by the East India Company and, later, the Crowns viceroys and generals. Indisputably, however, India ``underpinned Britain's status as a global power and provided it with markets, prestige and muscle,'' according to James. Neither arch-imperialist nor postcolonial critic, the author sees the Raj as a period governed by essentially idealistic if paternalistic rulers who left an indelible imprint on India and Pakistan. James has mastered an astonishingly large body of material, encompassing subjects as various as the social life of sahibs and memsahibs; the impact of India's newspapers on local opinion; and the non-battlefield dangers faced by British soldiers (e.g., venereal disease). He can be enjoyable to read even when not entirely fair, as when he lashes out at Lady Mountbatten as a ``jejune socialite. James numbers India's infrastructure, Western style of education, and enduring commitment to democracy among the positive legacies of British rule. Nevertheless, many readers, noting James's admission that Britain sometimes treated its subjects in a racist, brutal manner, will conclude that any rule maintained by force has its limits as a benign influence. An intelligent general history of the former jewel in Britain's crown, with assiduous attention to the complications it created for ruler and ruled alike. (24 pages b&w photos)
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Review by Booklist Review
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Review by Library Journal Review
Review by Kirkus Book Review
