3 Review(s)

Freedom At Midnight is a historical account of the events that occurred during India’s Independence Movement, leading up to Mahatma Gandhi’s death. Summary Of The Book In Freedom At Midnight, authors Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins provide a thoroughly researched account about various events in Indian history which contributed to its independence and the consequences (positive and negative) which ensued. Readers will get a glimpse into issues such as the final year of the British raj, the reaction of the Princely states to independence, the partition between Pakistan and India, and the violence that followed. Readers will also learn about the details surrounding Gandhi’s assassination and the motives of Nehru and Jinnah’s decisions. The book is a testament to Indian history as it contains deeply researched events and even important maps which lend it additional credibility. For instance, the authors have included maps denoting the boundaries between Pakistan and India that were drawn by Radcliffe, who was the Boundary Commission chairman. The authors have also included descriptions about religious unrest between the Muslims and Hindus, leading up to the massive migration by millions who were victimized by bandits and religious extremists. In order to lend a humanist perspective to their historical account, the authors have recounted specific incidents experienced by individuals during this massive migration, that will surely flabbergast readers. The book concludes with the events that led up to Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination, including the assassination plan by Nathuram Godse. Freedom At Midnight was originally published in 1975. About The Authors Dominique Lapierre is a bestselling French author who is also internationally acclaimed for his historical writings. City Of Joy, Is Paris Burning, Once Upon A Time In The Soviet Union, and O Jerusalem are some of the other titles by him. Before Lapierre took up a career in journalism, he was drafted into the French army where he met Larry Collins. The pair wrote numerous bestselling books, before Collins’ death in 2005. Lapierre is well known for his humanitarian efforts in Calcutta. Here, he is actively involved in educating slum children, curing TB patients, rescuing children who are handicapped, and providing villages with tube wells in order to improve access to drinking water. Lapierre was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2008. He is married to Dominique Conchon-Lapierre. Larry Collins was a bestselling author, who hailed from Hartford, Connecticut. He authored titles such as Is Paris Burning, O Jerusalem!, Black Eagles, Tomorrow Belongs To Us, and The Fifth Horseman. Collins graduated from Yale University. He briefly served in the U.S. Army. Collins’ writing career spanned over a 43 year period. He passed away in June of 2005.