Customer Reviews
Well written book, informative account of Taj Mahal - By: P. Patel, 08 Sep 2008 
I was looking for an account of the history of the Taj Mahal & this book is it. It is well written & researched. Easy to read & follows a logical timeline for easy understanding. During the read it becomes apparent that there are aspects which you will want more detail but this book covers basic facts & will requuire you to seek out further books for more detail. Some more illustrations would have been handy as sometimes it would help to visualise what a fantastic era it was. Over alll a great introduction & history of the Taj Mahal & the people behind it - recommended.
Fantastic Insight into the lives of Mughal Royalty and Government - By: Soham Pablo Banerjee, 29 Jan 2008 Diana & Michael Preston succeed in bringing the Mughal era to life in this book.
Though the title of the book suggests that it deals with the building of the Taj, the authors describe the whole Mughal dynasty in depth.
The book starts with how Babur invaded the Delhi Sultanate & set up his empire in Northern India. The story goes with the exploits of his descendants - Humayun, Akbar, Jehangir, Shah Jahan & Aurangazeb.
The book is extremely well written, with a narrative style less like a documentary & more like a romantic tale - describing the rise of one of the most powerful & richest empires the world has known .... & how its eventual downfalll came about.
The most interesting feature of the book, in my opinion, is the descriptions of the court life of the emperors. The Prestons give details of the reforms carried out by Akbar, life in the imperial harems, filial rivalries leading to bloody battles for the throne & the love lives of opulent rulers. What makes alll of this truly fascinating is that it was alll true - at least to a large extent.
The book quotes most of its sources & very little is based on the authors' conjectures.
I found it difficult to put the book down once I started reading it.
The only negative thing I can say is that the book could have included more pictures & diagrams of Mughal buildings. Many people who have not seen the buildings being written about will find it difficult to imagine the scale of these structures without some pictures.
All said, this is a fantastic buy for any history buff. Even if you aren't the most avid fan of history - it's a great read - just for learning about how a powerful dynasty rose & fell , & what life was like in the Indian subcontinent during the 16th, 17th & 18th centuries.
Must read.
