Fascinating history behind the building of the Taj Mahal. Authors have fleshed out the family tree (necessary genealogy included), with all the attendant conflicts, troubles & triumphs, that culminated with Shah Jahan building the awe-inspiring structure as a memorial to his beloved and powerful wife. Provides a clear picture of daily life in a far away place and time as well as insight into current affairs in the Middle East.

The dazzling story of the Taj Mahal and the empire whose spirit it epitomizes.

Built by the Moghul emperor Shah Jahan as a memorial to his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal, the Taj Mahal’s flawless symmetry and gleaming presence have or centuries dazzled everyone who has seen it, and the story of its creation is a fascinating blend of cultural and architectural heritage. Yet, as Diana and Michael Preston vividly convey in the first narrative history of the Taj, it also reflects the magnificent history of the Moghul Empire itself, for it turned out to mark the high point of the empire’s glory at the same time as it became a tipping point in Moghul fortunes. With the storytelling skills that characterize their previous books, the Prestons bring alive both the grand sweep of Moghul history and the details that make it memorable. A tale of overwhelming passion, the story of the Taj has the cadences of Greek tragedy and the ripe emotion of grand opera, and puts a memorable human face on the marble masterpiece.

Praise for Taj Mahal:

“Filled with quotes, anecdotes and evocative prose, this true tale has, at times, the texture of a historical novel.”—Seattle Times

“This history breaks through the legendary facade to reveal a powerful backstory.”—Publishers Weekly

“In describing the Moghul Empire, the Prestons tell tales of Sunni and Shiite tensions; battles that are won by bribery as much as by force; and religious and clan wars that sweep from Kandahar to Kabul to Kashmir.”—San Diego Union-Tribune

Diana and Michael Preston are Oxford-trained historians who live in London, England. Diana is the author of A First Rate Tragedy, The Boxer Rebellion, Lusitania: An Epic Tragedy, and Before the Fallout: From Marie Curie to Hiroshima, which won the 2006 Los Angeles Times prize for Science & Technology. She and Michael coauthored A Pirate of Exquisite Mind, a biography of the great seventeenth-century adventurer William Dampier.

Publisher: Walker & Company
Imprint: Walker & Company
Distributor: MPS
Publication Date: 02-05-2008
Pages: 336
Measurements: 8.25in X 5.50in