Book On 1St Anglo-Sikh War

[dalsingh101]

New book that might be of interest to some. It hasn't been published yet.

You know what I hate sometimes is when books are released that are basically rewrites of previously published books and contain nothing new in terms of analysis, interpretation or facts. I hope this isn't another one in that category.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/First-Anglo-Sikh-War-Amarpal-Sidhu/dp/1848689837/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1270102255&sr=1-4

[dalsingh101]

Book looks interesting.

[GSMANN]

http://www.sikhnugget.com/2010/08/invitation-for-new-anglo-sikh-wars-book.html

Invitation for new Anglo Sikh wars book

A very warm invite to you for its launch at the

Royal Geographic Society on the 7th September 2010.

The book is a complete and comprehensive narration of the campaign including many new firsthand accounts and details that have surfaced since the last major book on the subject by Gough and Innes was published around a hundred years ago. The book also includes for the first time a detailed analysis of the battlefield sites of Mudki, Ferozeshah, Bhudowal, Aliwal and Sabraon and covers their history immediately after the battles and through

the years, their current condition and what there is to see and explore for battlefield tourists and enthusiasts.

The book has already received advance praise from both Military historians and battlefield archaeologists. Amongst others John Keay, author of the monumental work "India: A History" writes "'The First Anglo-Sikh War' unearths a wealth of rarely studied sources and marries them to exhaustive field research to produce a detailed study of an important but largely forgotten campaign". Dr. Tony Pollard, Battlefield archaeologist (BBC series presenter "Two men in a trench") says of the book "The sections on the battlefields today, which include vivid descriptions of the aftermath of combat by eyewitnesses, so often overlooked in works of military history, will help to make this a key work for a long time to come". Dilip Sarkar MBE, Military historian, Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and author of numerous books describes the book as "An extremely detailed study providing as definitive a narrative as is possible so many years later".

Book Information sheet:

During the eighteenth and early years of the nineteenth century, the red tide of British expansion had covered almost the entire Indian subcontinent, stretching to the borders of the Punjab. There the great Sikh ruler Ranjit Singh had developed his military forces to thwart any British advance into his kingdom north of the River Sutlej.

Yet on the death of Ranjit Singh, unworthy successors and disparate forces fought over his legacy while the British East India Company seized the opportunity and prepared for battle. In the winter of 1845, the First Anglo-Sikh War broke out. From the start, the two-month campaign was married by Victorian arrogance and bluster on the British side and personal ambition, intrigue and treason in the Sikh camp. Five keenly fought contests

ensued, including the great battle of Ferozeshah where the British force found itself caught between two powerful Sikh armies and came close to destruction.

Declining to retreat, the British Commander-in-Chief Sir Hugh Gough told his second in command: 'My mind is made up. If we must perish, it is better that our bones should bleach honourably at Ferozeshah than rot at Ferozepore: but they shall do neither the one nor the other.' The fate of the British Empire in India would be decided that day.

Amarpal Sidhu writes a warts and all tale of a conflict characterised by treachery, tragedy and incredible bravery on both sides. In an innovative approach to history writing, the narrative of the campaign is accompanied by battlefield guides that draw on eyewitness accounts and invite the reader to take a tour themselves of the battlefields, either physically or virtually.

Fully illustrated with period drawings, modern-day photographs and new maps, The First Anglo-Sikh War gives a forgotten conflict the meticulous attention

it deserves.

Launch Details

Venue: Royal Geographic Society, 1 Kensington Gore, London, SW7 2AR

Date: 7th September 2010

Time: 7pm- 8:30pm

For directions to RGS click below:

http://www.rgs.org/AboutUs/Visiting+the+Society.htm

The book is available for pre-order and will be available direct from

Amberley Publishing www.amberley-books.com

There is more information on the book on its website

www.thefirstanglosikhwar.com

Also visit: http://www.fauj-i-khas.com/

[amardeep]

It sounds like a great book, especially the eye witness accounts

[dalsingh101]

Just got this book from the library. Will try to review it when I'm done.

[HSD1]

http://www.sikhchic.com/books/the_first_anglosikh_war

Fairly good review.

Was going to do a proper review but decided I could just sum up the main points as follows. The book is good but unfortunately it is not encyclopaedic - it contains many anecdotes but for the sake of balance many have been left out. Many sikh authors are often derided by outsiders when they write about their own history as sikhs writing about sikh history is considered to be biased. When sikhs write books that praise outsiders or hurl abuse at other sikhs, these same critics jump with joy at the thought of one our own sticking the knife in. Reading this book there are times when it seems he tries too hard to balance accounts in order to avoid being seen as biased. Which is fair play to him, the more who read this book and then research the war themselves will lead to them finding out more examples of how underhand the traitors were and how close the sikh empire came to victory. Hopefully it will encourage more sikhs to write history for the sake of honesty rather than to make money by selling out or stroking the egos of sikhs who need the emotional uplift.

I wont give the book a score as I havent used the book to go on a battlefield tour yet, which is what half the book is for. But what I will say is that any sikh who wants to know more about a time when we were sovereign needs to read this book. Go and buy a copy now (its only £20), read it, and then give it to someone else. My copy has already been read by two other people who didnt know much about sikh punjab and were amazed we had a nation state and army that could stand up to the world's largest superpower for so long. If you only ever read one book on the 1st anglo sikh war, make sure its this one.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/First-Anglo-Sikh-War-Amarpal-Sidhu/dp/1848689837/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1270102255&sr=1-4

[dalsingh101]

Amarpal is making us wait for his second book! lol

[amardeep]

How did you find the first book?

[dalsingh101]

I think it came up as a recommendation in Amazon due to my past purchases. 

[amardeep]

HAHA no i mean was it good?

[dalsingh101]

5 hours ago, amardeep said:

HAHA no i mean was it good?

Hee hee hee. Talk about crossed wires! 

 

It was good, as good as any other account if not better. He should have put the boot into whitey for illegal wars a bit more though,  but I think he realises that whitemen are his main customers (now at least).