Customer Reviews

Taj Mahal: Passion and Genius at the Heart of the Moghul Empire

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Although the Prestons' book is well written, only a portion of it delivers what its title and cover seem to promise. This, of course, you will quickly discover if you have a copy to preview. If you don't, you should know that much of the book focuses on the struggles to gain/keep territory and the throne over the course of almost two centuries and six shahs. There is also much information about various shahs' idiosyncrasies and addictions, their strengths and weaknesses as leaders, and the customs of their courts and harems. What 3/4ths of the Prestons' book is really about, in fact, was equally well covered in the aptly titled A Brief History of the Great Moghuls, reprinted in 2002.

It is difficult to rate the approximately 60 pages of text in the Prestons' book that do focus on the Taj complex, including its antecedents, the people directly involved in its construction, its ornamentation, the toll time has taken on it, and a chapter on the theory that Shah Jahan had planned a different mausoleum for himself. Those who are reading about the complex in depth for the first time will likely find the material interesting; those who have read other books on the subject are unlikely to find much that is new.

Unfortunately, it is not at all difficult to rate the 23 snapshots of the Taj complex and related funerary architecture in this book. First, most are grainy black and grays that reveal little more than general outlines. Second, even the seven in color (four of them small ones of interior details) are taken from too great a distance to reveal technical brilliance or artistry. That only the cover and another mood shot of the mausoleum appear to be the work of a professional is a major weakness in a book that purports to be about the genius of the Taj Mahal, for only superb photography can truly convey much of it. As for drawings to illuminate structural detail, the only two merely shade in an arch and a vault.

For the reasons noted above and more, if you are interested in India's national treasure, you will do yourself a great favor if, before deciding on the Prestons' book, you investigate the following: 1) Okada, Joshi & Nou's Taj Mahal (1993), a visually stunning and informative book and 2) E. Koch's The Complete Taj Mahal (2006), a TEN-STAR BOOK that "should be in the library of anyone fascinated by the Taj Mahal, not just historians and architects." (Incidentally, that the Prestons' bookcover is almost identical to Koch's does not make their book comparable to hers.)

For those that want to see complete visuals and illustrations of the Taj Mahal, then this book is not for you. It contained many photos but most were taken at a distance and others were a bit blurry. Even my heavily scratched reading glasses did not assist in delivering me an adequate detailed photo. I visited the Taj, in 2002, and have more interesting photos than what was portrayed in the book. I also visited the Red Fort in 2006, which was also described in the book.

The only other 'pessimistic item' that I would write about was that, at times, it was difficult to follow the authors when they would describe informative detail on the building and how it was constructed. Since there were no photos about these fine details to observe, this information proved difficult to follow. It could be just me. I am a very visual person and that describing things in detail usually averts my attention. I need visuals!

Now, for the good side. I thought the book was very informative on the Moghul empire. It discusses all the friction between the families on the strive to gain power and gives you a pretty good account of the history of India(Moghul empire, mainly) during that time frame. It also makes you understand why imperialistic empires just don't survive and how the desire for power destroyed this infamous empire. I am no avid historian and have read only a few books containing any history of India. Even though I lack the historical background of India, I found the book easy to read and follow. Basically I read it in 2 days and found the information that the authors presented to be fascinating. I felt as if I was standing there watching the whole thing unfold in front of my eyes. In addition, I was able to perceive the physical sensation of the characters written within the pages. It takes a very special history book to keep my attention span going and this book did the trick. Most history books take me a month to finish.

So overall, I enjoyed the book and if you are a person that has no direction or sense of history, you, my friend, will enjoy it as well. The only thing that I regret was not reading this information prior to seeing the Taj in 2002. If I did, I would have had a better feeling of what it represented than being just a silly tourist making a checklist on all the famous places that I have visited. Oh well...

Read it. I guarantee that you will enjoy it!

initially I was interested in this book because a decade ago, I'd written about Mumtaz Mahal, the woman for whom the Taj was built. I was amazed at the book's insights. One in particular moved me--it showed how Shah Jahan publicly revealed his deep grief over his wife's death. By going public, he broke the rules of Indian society by showing his feelings in such a manner--considered signs of weakness in a man, especially a ruler. But this book took on even more meaning after taking a recent 3-week trip to India. In the Preston book, I'd read how uncounted thousands of laborers, men and women, had built the foundations of the Taj with little besides their hands. That seemed hard to believe. But in Agra and other places, I was astonished to see women and men doing repair work on grand monuments like the Taj, moving stones in baskets, carrying loads of excavated earth upon their heads--exactly as described in the Preston book. Since I collect books, I like those that cover a topic well and give me unusual facts, too. From this one, I found out something I'd always wanted to know: that the backwards swastika seen everywhere in India represents the way the cosmos spreads outward in four directions. Cool. Being a nonfiction writer myself, I know what a challenge it is to tackle a popular topic that, one would think, has been "done to death." The Prestons have risen to the challenge and succeeded brilliantly.

This book is the story of the family behind the Taj Mahal. If you are interested in the actual monument, its design and construction, you will have to do with about 50 pages. I got this book at the public library, so I was able to browse it, and the history was I was looking for. Otherwise, I would have been disappointed.

The Prestons give not only an understandable, but also a readable account of this brutal family history. The sketch of the love story is well known, but not how Shah Jahan lost favor of his father, in some part due to his father's love and dependence on one of this late in life wives. Most, probably, do not know the fate of the children of these famous lovers, nor that Shah Jahan died imprisoned by one of them within view of this monument.

One can only marvel on how Mumtaz Mahal traveled with her husband in war, and exile, constantly pregnant and bearing 14 children. Perhaps, as their family history suggests, she was the only one with whom he could confide and trust. They had a lasting sexual attraction despite his easy access to others and her continual pregnancies. They had shared extreme ups and downs. She may have been the only constant (later fulfilled by their eldest daughter) in his brutal and unstable world.

The Prestons note the other mausoleums built for and by these Moghul rulers, none of which approach this in style and size. As I write this, the Food Channel has a competition of chocolate sculptors making a model of this incredible structure.

This is a wonderful book, beautifully written and presented with fine illustrations. I started reading the book on my return from a business trip in India and found that the perspective the book provided on the Moghul empire helped me understand the beauty of their art and architecture. The Taj Mahal is the highlight of the Moghul art and architecture . The book helps the reader understand the context in which this building was created. I highly recommend this book.

I found this an engaging book, revealing much of the dynasty of Babur, Akbar, Jahangir, Jahan and Aurengzeb. The status of their capital city, Agra, in the world context (compared with London at the time) is startling. The book is about the Taj Mahal and its architecture, but much of it is about the context of Shah Jahan who directed its architecture, construction and use. In that context there is the developing architectural styles that culminated in the Taj - but nothing much followed. The Moghuls self-destructed, and their fortune was dissipated. But what a moment in history they had, what riches were at their disposal! Unfortunately they were not particularly likeable - violence and suppression were all too common. Even violence against their own families. Can the greatness of the monument Shah Jahan built, symbolising his great love for his wife, overcome the murder, drunkeness, pillaging .....? No, not even love can achieve that! The Taj Mahal is not my favourite building (I prefer the temples at Khajuraho and the Khmer temples in the district of Siem Reap for example) but it is an exceptional building. Unfortunately my experience of the Taj (and I was fortunate to see it on a night of the full moon) was compromised by the throngs of people there - and, as is often the case in India, those people do not honour the contemplative nature of the building and its surrounds. Perhaps, like me, they are visitors. Perhaps it is not a building of their religion.

Taj Mahal by Diana Preston depicts the Taj Mahal as this breathtakingly beautiful tribute to a great love between Shah Jahan, the Mogul emperor and his wife Mumtaz Mahul, who died during childbirth. Although Preston labors for entire chapters over the beauty of the Taj Mahul and the love these two people shared, the rest of the book is dedicated to illustrating the barbaric inter-family brutality and lust for power that eventually led to the downfall of Mogul rule. For the many advancements and achievements credited to the Mogul empires under the Jahan line from beautiful architecture to advances in mathematics and education, the empire itself is tainted beyond repair because the quest to get and hold land and power proved all consuming, pitting fathers and sons against one another and even in one case a scheming female against the Shah. This culture of war depleted the Mogul strength and eventually made them ripe for conquest. Fans of architecture will love it for the vivid descriptions of the Taj's picturesque beauty and fans of an intriguing story will love the dynamic story of family betrayals and loyalties unfolding as an empire hangs in the balance.

I wish I read this book before I went to see the Taj. Now i have to make a second trip to find the signature of Amanat Khan on the Taj.