Sunday, August 18, 2019

The Indian leaders demonstrated how seriously they took this faraway war by bickering over whose car they should go in, Gandhi's of Jinnah's

Oh, I try so hard to winnow out books from my overcrowded library and home. Indian Summer by Alex von Tunzelmann. Surely that is a good candidate to go? I like Indian History and World War II history, but am not so wild about decline and defeat. A lot of histories of India are not especially well written. Perhaps this one can go.

Let's check the writing style. Opening randomly to page 107.
On1 September 1939, Hitler's armies invaded Poland. Three days later, the Viceroy, by then Lord Linlithgow, summoned Gandhi and Jinnah. The Indian leaders demonstrated how seriously they took this faraway war by bickering over whether they should go in Gandhi’s or Jinnah’s car to the meeting, a scrap which Jinnah, for what it was worth, won. The Viceroy did not take their contribution seriously, either. He informed them that India had already declared war on Germany – without their approval.
OK. This goes back on the shelf to be read at some point.

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