Jinnah of Pakistan

Perhaps the best work on the man M A Jinnah- one of the least known personalites in history. Impartial, engrossing and detailed. A must for anyone interested in South Asian History.

I think most of the other readers have made a good case of why this book is such a great read. The status of Jinnah has attained mythic proportions in a society (Pakistan) where there is a complete lack of heroes to look up to. Unfortunately this means that Jinnah tends to be treated as some kind of prophet of Islam sent down to earth to liberate the muslims from the dual tyranny of the British and the Hindus. Wolpert peels away the cover to reveal the real Jinnah, a true hero and an infinitely more interesting personality then what most people in his home country know and believe. I also find it intriguing that the two people who found the book bad enough to rate it a one did not have the decency to put their names to their reviews. This is a great book for anybody interested in the history of the sub-continenet, anonymous reviews to the contrary not withstanding.

Before I read this book, I knew Jinnah only through the Pakistani text books I had read as a schoolboy, which present a rather 'monolithical' image of this man. Children in Pakistan grow up thinking of him as some sort of an Islamic angel bestowed with superhuman powers; someone who cruised to victory demolishing every un-Islamic obstacle and opposition in his path to ultimately carve out a separate country for the Muslims of India. Ironically, this angelic image of Jinnah belittles his accomplishments, the true worth of which can only be fully appreciated when viewed through the prism of his human weaknesses. Jinnah was a frail man. A physically weak man. A dying man. He also had little emotional comfort, apart from his sister's undying affection. He lived a lonely and painful life, yet gave enough strength to an entire nation to stand and be counted.Wolpert's book revealed Jinnah the Man to me. Each chapter slowly peeled away the synthetic and chaste facade of Jinnah to reveal a real flesh and blood human with all his physical and emotional shortcomings. Jinnah's true triumph lay in his ability to rise above these weaknesses and then to change the course of history.I was greatly moved by this book. I have more respect for Jinnah today then I ever had. And I have Stanley Wolpert to thank for it.

Stanley Wolpert's best work as he says : Few individuals significantly alter the course of history. Fewer still modify the map of the world. Hardly anyone can be credited with creating a nation state Muhammad Ali Jinnah did all three.Though Stanley Wolpert fails in explaining why Jinnah converted from being a fervent ambassador of Hindu Muslim unity to apostle of Pakistan, his work nevertheless is definitive, though I believe Ayesha jalal has her thumb on the actual pulse of the issue in her book...

This book provides a very thorough examination of Jinnah's history and his involvement in South Asian politics, from joint opposition to British with the Hindu politicians, to his advocacy for a separate Muslim state (Pakistan). It is one of the few books that exposes the good and not so good qualities of both Hindu and Muslim leaders of the time (Jinnah, Nehru and Gandhi). And presents Jinnah as a pragmatic leader who was not interested in splitting up India for the sake of his own power as has been suggested. Instead the book illustrates how the Muslims of India were 2nd class citizens even during British rule and due the inevitable circumstances brought about by the British and the ensuing tensions between Hindus and Muslims, Jinnah pursued the only viable course at the time. An absolute must read for students of politics and history of South Asia