William Dalrymple is een gevierd auteur, bekend om zijn inzichtelijke verkenningen van de Indiase geschiedenis en cultuur. Zijn werken worden gekenmerkt door nauwgezet onderzoek, meeslepende verhalen en een uniek vermogen om het verleden tot leven te brengen voor hedendaagse lezers. Dalrymple verweeft meesterlijk historische gebeurtenissen met menselijke ervaringen, waarbij hij thema's als culturele ontmoetingen, religieuze identiteit en maatschappelijke transformaties onderzoekt. Zijn suggestieve proza, rijk aan levendige beschrijvingen en gedenkwaardige personages, trekt de lezers diep in de werelden die hij beschrijft.
Examines the mid-19th-century Afghan war as a tragic result of neocolonial ambition, cultural collision and hubris, drawing on previously untapped primary sources to explore such topics as the reestablishment of a puppet-leader Shah, the conflict's brutal human toll and the similarities between the war and present-day challenges.
India explores the lives of everyday people in extraordinary settings through the lens of Steve McCurry, one of the most admired photographers working today. As featured on cnn.com. This new portfolio of emotive and beautiful photographs from India features 150 previously unpublished images taken across the Indian subcontinent, along with iconic photographs that are famous worldwide. Reproduced in a large format with captions, and an introductory essay, this book features a range of color pictures illustrating this most colorful of countries, capturing the lives of everyday people in extraordinary settings: from the Ganesh festival on Chowpatty beach in Mumbai to the Kolkata railway station before dawn to the flower markets of Kashmir and the streets of Old Delhi. Following Phaidon's 2013 bestseller Untold: The Stories Behind the Photographs, McCurry's India is a new selection of the photographer's beautiful and powerful images of India, a country he has photographed many times over the last thirty years. Other Phaidon titles by Steve McCurry, include Steve McCurry, The Iconic Photographs, Steve McCurry, Unguarded Moment and Steve McCurry: South Southeast.
In the spring of 1839, the British invaded Afghanistan for the first time. Led by lancers in scarlet cloaks and plumed shakos, nearly 20,000 British and East India Company troops poured through the high mountain passes and re-established on the throne Shah Shuja ul-Mulk. On the way in, the British faced little resistance. But after two years of occupation, the Afghan people rose in answer to the call for jihad and the country exploded into violent rebellion. The First Anglo-Afghan War ended in Britain's greatest military humiliation of the nineteenth century: an entire army of the then most powerful nation in the world ambushed in retreat and utterly routed by poorly equipped tribesmen. Return of a King is the definitive analysis of the First Afghan War, told through the lives of unforgettable characters on all sides and using for the first time contemporary Afghan accounts of the conflict. Prize-winning and bestselling historian William Dalrymple's masterful retelling of Britain's greatest imperial disaster is a powerful and important parable of colonial ambition and cultural collision, folly and hubris, for our times.
Set against the backdrop of the 1839 British invasion of Afghanistan, the narrative explores the installation of Shah Shuja as a puppet ruler and the ensuing rebellion that led to a disastrous retreat for British forces. Dalrymple intricately connects historical events to contemporary issues, revealing the enduring tribal rivalries that shaped Afghanistan's politics. By examining the parallels between past and present leaders, he provides a comprehensive analysis of the complexities that have influenced both British and NATO engagements in the region, supported by newly uncovered primary sources.
A Journey in the Shadow of Byzantium
In his third book William Dalrymple has dug deep to present the case of the Middle East s downtrodden Christians. More hard-hitting than either of his previous books, From the Holy Mountain is driven by indignation. While leavened with his characteristic jauntiness and humour, it is also profoundly shocking. Time and time again in the details of Dalrymple s discoveries I found myself asking: why do we not know this? The sense of unsung tragedy accumulates throughout the chapters of this book&From the Holy Mountain is the most rewarding sort of travel book, combining flashes of lightly-worn scholarship with a powerful sense of place and the immediacy of the best journalism. But more than that it is a passionate cri de coeur for a forgotten people which few readers will be able to resist Philip Marsden, Spectator
In the spring of 587 A.D., 2 men set out from the great desert monastery of St Theodosius, near Bethlehem. It was the start of an extraordinary journey across the entire Byzantine world, and William Dalrymple has followed in their footsteps
The Anarchy, White Mughals, Return of a King and The Last Mughal
The narrative explores the complex and often overlooked dynamics of the East India Company's rise and its impact on the Mughal Empire, which was once a significant global economic power. Through meticulous research and engaging storytelling, Dalrymple reveals the darker aspects of colonialism, highlighting the transition from a thriving empire to corporate dominance. This four-book collection provides a comprehensive view of over two centuries of colonial history, marked by political intrigue and resistance, making it an essential read for history enthusiasts.
In 1765 the East India Company defeated and captured the young Mughal emperor and forced him to set up a new government run by English traders. The creation of this new government marked the moment that the East India Company ceased to be a conventional international trading corporation, dealing in silks and spices, and became something much more unusual: an aggressive colonial power in the guise of a multinational business
'Could you show me a djinn?' I asked. 'Certainly, ' replied the Sufi. 'But you would run away.' From the author of the Samuel Johnson prize shortlisted 'The Return of a King', this is William Dalrymple's captivating memoir of a year spent in Delhi, a city watched over and protected by the mischievous invisible djinns. Lodging with the beady-eyed Mrs Puri and encountering an extraordinary array of characters - from elusive eunuchs to the last remnants of the Raj - William Dalrymple comes to know the bewildering city intimately. He pursues Delhi's interlacing layers of history along narrow alleys and broad boulevards, brilliantly conveying its intoxicating mix of mysticism and mayhem. 'City of Djinns' is an astonishing and sensitive portrait of a city, and confirms William Dalrymple as one of the most compelling explorers of India's past and present.
A historical account of the last Mughal emperor, his court, and the 1857 uprising in Delhi.
