Rating: 
Summary: Great book - insightful and historically accurate
Review: This book describes the process by which India gained its independance from Britain in August 1947. It goes into great detail on the lives of the various players including Lord Mountbatten; Gandhi, Nehru and the founder of Pakistan. I believe that much of the detail in the movie "Gandhi" was taken from this book.
It describes the basis for the religious differences in India, the process of dividing the sub-continent and the resulting turmoil.
It is the type of book that can be re-read every 4 years or so. Get it!
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Summary: The story of a billion people
Review: This book is about the struggle for freedom in the modern Indian subcontinent and its consequences. India largely attained its freedom through satyagraha. The entire subcontinent opted for struggle for freedom through peaceful demonstrations, while at the same time the rest of the world was killing each other with newly invented bombs,tankers and planes. Ofcourse, the subcontinent paid a premium price for the peaceful struggle. What motivated these people towards this experiment? What happened to these people? To their leader? What troubles did they face? How did the dynamics of a revolted society of billion people, so mind numbingly divergent, play? The authors did a brilliant job of reconstructing the precursors, the movement and the consequences. The British, thier attitude, the Indians, their philosophy, the Maharajas, the comman man, religion, religious heads, politicians and the blood thirsty, all play their role. Here is the synopsis: The last viceroy to India was sent on a mission to finally end the British rule in the Indian subcontinent. The British wanted it to be done as painlessly as possible, even if it means, dividing the land before leaving it. India then (and now) was a supremely complex society. British managed it by 'divide and rule' practice. Meanwhile , a small brown naked phakir named 'Gandhi' started uniting the voice of India through simple and peaceful methods.(Salt satyagraha is one of them). Gandhi managed to lead the struggle for the freedom into a national movement. Finally when India was getting its freedom, muslims demanded for a seperate country for themselves called 'Pakistan'. The muslim movement became a parallel movement and boiled down to two nations. This set the stage for partition. The hindus who have been living in the would be Pakistan had to migrate to India. Also the muslims who have been living in the would be India who opted to leave to Pakistan started migrating. This is the largest human migration in the history. A drama that is very disturbing, emerged out of this. This book is the about the story of these people. There are numorous sub plots or mini stories in this book that are testimonials to the human nature and will stand the test of time.
Rating: 
Summary: One-Man Self Aggrandizement
Review: This book is based on thirty hours of interviews granted by Louis Mountbatten to its authors. It is essentially a one-man version of how India won its independence. Reading this book, one would think that the "white-knight" Mountbatten rode into India to save the day, overlooking the fact that the British had subjugated those people, sometimes, brutally, for over a century. There are several better books which give a much more balanced and objective account of the Indian Independence without sounding like someone's diary or a sycophantic homage from a couple of grateful writers. Try the Oxford History of India.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book
Review: This book is correct facutually and has gone in great depts to do so. Very few people have got access to the number of people the authors have met. Intrestingly, they also met the people who assasinated Mahatma Gandhi.
Thoush about history, it is quite fast apced and eye witnesss recollections have been given at appropriate places. It is also one of the best pieces of English langusge in terms of the vizualization which can be after reading throught the chapters on partition and the period after that. It does not wholly focus on gandhi nor on any one person. Though in my opinion, it has praised Mountbatten a bit too much in this book. I would say that India and Pakistan were divided in haste and the demarcation line drawn pretty randomly.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book
Review: This book is correct facutually and has gone in great depts to do so. Very few people have got access to the number of people the authors have met. Intrestingly, they also met the people who assasinated Mahatma Gandhi.
Thoush about history, it is quite fast apced and eye witnesss recollections have been given at appropriate places. It is also one of the best pieces of English langusge in terms of the vizualization which can be after reading throught the chapters on partition and the period after that. It does not wholly focus on gandhi nor on any one person. Though in my opinion, it has praised Mountbatten a bit too much in this book. I would say that India and Pakistan were divided in haste and the demarcation line drawn pretty randomly.
Rating: 
Summary: Allright but not neutral
Review: This book looks at the events leading to and after the independence and partition of India in a western angle. Allots too many pages to Hindu rituals irrelevant to the subject. Majority of the content is based on Mountbatten's input. Claims that the British wanted to do good for India at the same time saying that they tried to make 576 parts of India. This should be named "Mountbattens adventures in India" rather than "Freedom at Midnight"
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Summary: A roller coaster ride through history - EXCELLENT
Review: This book opened my eyes to a part of history I should have known about but didn't. Although I am currently living in the US, I grew up in England; a country that is intertwined with the unfolding drama in this book. It is filled with facts and events that have shaped the world as we know it today, but reads like an adventure novel and not a text book. It gave me a feel for how triumphant, yet devastating at the same time, this period in India's history was. With it's descriptive narrative and easy to follow discussions of complex political situations, this book makes me feel as though I was almost there. I can not recommend this book enough.
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Summary: fabulous book, a must read for people interested in India
Review: This is a fabulous, well-researched book which is also easy to read. I could not put it down. I read it before visiting India and it helped me better understand the political and social conditions present. The book covers India's independence from Britain, the partitioning of India into India and Pakistan, and the history that influenced these events.
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Summary: The story of the Independence of India and Pakistan.
Review: This is a great read for those interested in the history of the Third World. India and Pakistan are countries with huge populations and their independence in 1947 was one of turning points in the decolonization of the Third World. Collins and Lapierre detail this story in this book. Also detailed are the four people most important in the independence: Montbatten, Gandhi, Nehru, and Jinnah. Millions may have lost their life in the Punjab, but it would have been a far bloodier story if these people were not around. Focus is given on Gandhi who was a most unselfish person, in recognizing the rights of all faiths. The book details how Gandhi's struggles lead to the independence of India, and how the leaders of the different faiths broke the country up into Pakistan and India. The last part of the book is the story of the assassination of Gandhi by Hindu fanatics.
This is a great read. At a little over 500 pages, this book will take some time to digest, but it is one of the best books about the independence struggle of Pakistan and India. This book also sheds some light on the current problems with Kashmir.
A great read.
Rating: 
Summary: The Best!
Review: This is the book to read if you want to know India and Pakistan's love-hate relationship. A book which tackles human tragedies because decisions were made not by the people involve but by people who have the power to influence history. A story of a great person who wants freedom through peaceful means. A must read for every person on earth.
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