No empire in history built so variously as the British empire in India. The buildings there attest to the richness of an imperial presence that lasted--from the first trading settlement to the end of the Raj--some three hundred years. The attitude of the British to India was compounded partly of arrogance; but partly also of homesickness; and it shows in their constructions. Georgian terraces were adapted to tropical conditions; Victorian railway stations were elaborately orientalized; seaside villas were adjusted to suit Himalayan conditions; and everywhere the fundamental ambivalence of the British empire; a baffling mixture of good and evil; was mirrored in the imperial architecture. This book; now reissued with an introduction by Simon Winchester; was the first to describe the whole range of British constructions in India. The text and photographs illustrate these buildings not simply as physical objects; but as reflections of an empire's mingled emotions. Stones of Empire charts an enterprise in architecture; engineering; and social adaptation unique in human history.
#2926222 in Books Ingramcontent 2016-10-31 2016-10-31Original language:English 6.10 x .70 x 9.20l; .0 #File Name: 0190624388256 pagesBuddhist Extremists and Muslim Minorities Religious Conflict in Contemporary Sri Lanka
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