{"title":"John Zubrzycki","description":"\u003cp\u003eJohn Zubrzycki offers a captivating blend of historical insight and personal narrative, exploring vivid epochs and compelling figures from India’s past. His works, such as \u003cem\u003eThe Shortest History of Delhi\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eThe House of Jaipur\u003c\/em\u003e, provide accessible yet richly detailed journeys through cultural heritage and political change.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eCombining elements of biography and memoir with thorough historical research, Zubrzycki’s writing brings to life the complexities of power, identity, and memory. Readers can expect thoughtful, engaging accounts that illuminate lesser-known stories alongside broader historical themes.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"the-shortest-history-of-india-by-john-zubrzycki-9781760641788","title":"The Shortest History of India","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAn illuminating and concise telling of the 5000 years of turbulent history that led India from the ruins of ancient civilisations to an emerging global superpower.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOne of the oldest civilisations and the largest democracy in the world, India is an amalgam of customs, races, castes, languages, and spiritual beliefs, woven together over 5000 years of wonderfully colossal and chaotic history.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFrom the earliest humans and the Harappan civilisation to Muslim invaders, the Great Mughals, British rule, the country's struggle for autonomy and present-day hopes and challenges, John Zubrzycki masterfully condenses five millennia of deities, mutinies, wars, great empires, decadent dynasties, invasions, colonisation, and independence into a fascinating, lively telling. He brings the complex and contrasting layers of Indian history to life through a well-known cast of characters—Buddha, Alexander the Great, Akbar, Clive, Tipu Sultan, Lakshmi Bai, Curzon, Jinnah, and Mahatma Gandhi—against a backdrop of the mystical Ganges, the desert forts of Rajasthan, the snow-covered Himalayas, and the ruins of India's fabled civilisations.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFrom Buddhism to Bollywood, India has made its mark on Asia and the world. Its progress in tackling poverty and illiteracy has been impressive, but extraordinary challenges remain—not least the threat to its secular fabric. Only time will tell if India can overcome its political, social, and religious tensions to rise again and become the next global superpower.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Shortest History of India\u003c\/em\u003e may be a one-day read, but it's no small achievement. Nimbly navigating 5000 years of erratic documentation, Zubrzycki's narrative retains its poise, misses little, and is a delight to read. - John Keay\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eJohn Zubrzycki has fashioned an accessible and absorbing portal to the subcontinent's 5000-year-old history. - \u003cem\u003eThe Sydney Morning Herald\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eContents:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cul\u003e\n    \u003cli\u003eLost Civilisations\u003c\/li\u003e\n    \u003cli\u003eReligious Revolutionaries\u003c\/li\u003e\n    \u003cli\u003eThe Classical Age\u003c\/li\u003e\n    \u003cli\u003eThe Coming of Islam\u003c\/li\u003e\n    \u003cli\u003eThe Magnificent Mughals\u003c\/li\u003e\n    \u003cli\u003eMerchants and Mercenaries\u003c\/li\u003e\n    \u003cli\u003eThe Lighting of the Fuse\u003c\/li\u003e\n    \u003cli\u003eThe Long Road to Freedom\u003c\/li\u003e\n    \u003cli\u003eCreating the Nation State\u003c\/li\u003e\n    \u003cli\u003eA 'New India'?\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46338694709484,"sku":"9781760641788","price":32.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/23804823482814.jpg?v=1743744081"},{"product_id":"the-mysterious-mr-jacob-by-john-zubrzycki-9780995359437","title":"The Mysterious Mr Jacob","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'One of the most exciting narrative histories to come out of India.'\u003c\/em\u003e - William Dalrymple\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIt was a scandal that rocked the highest echelons of the British Raj. In 1891, a notorious jeweller and curio dealer from Simla offered to sell the world's largest brilliant-cut diamond to the fabulously wealthy Nizam of Hyderabad. If the audacious deal succeeded, it would set the merchant up for life. But the transaction went horribly wrong. The Nizam accused him of fraud, triggering a sensational trial in the Calcutta High Court that made headlines around the world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe dealer was Alexander Malcolm Jacob, a man of mysterious origins. After arriving penniless in Bombay in 1865, he became the most famous purveyor of precious stones in princely India, and a confidante of Viceroys and Maharajas. Jacob also excelled in the magical arts. He inspired all those who met him, including Rudyard Kipling, who immortalised him as Lurgan Sahib, the 'healer of sick pearls', in his novel \u003cem\u003eKim\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eNow for the first time, John Zubrzycki, author of \u003cem\u003eThe Last Nizam\u003c\/em\u003e, conveys the page-turning colour, romance, and adventure of Jacob's astonishing life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eStarting on the banks of the Tigris in modern-day Turkey, where Jacob was born, Zubrzycki strips away the myths and legends. He follows Jacob's journey from the slums of Bombay to the fabulous court of the Nizam of Hyderabad, from the hedonistic heights of Simla, the summer capital of the Raj, to the Calcutta High Court. This is a story of India, of strange twists and unexpected outcomes. Most importantly, Zubrzycki enters into and truly captures the spirit of the mysterious Mr Jacob, one of the most enigmatic and charismatic figures of his time.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46846557978860,"sku":"9780995359437","price":34.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/10316193482542.jpg?v=1758912562"},{"product_id":"dethroned-by-john-zubrzycki-9781805263098","title":"Dethroned","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe dramatic true story of the betrayal of hundreds of Indian princely states by both the departing British and the new Congress government. In July 1947, India's last Viceroy, Lord Louis Mountbatten, stood before New Delhi's Chamber of Princes to deliver the most important speech of his career. He had just three weeks to convince over 550 sovereign princely states—some tiny, some the size of Britain—to become part of a free India. Once Britain's most faithful allies, the princes could choose between joining India or Pakistan, or declaring independence.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDethroned\u003c\/em\u003e is a saga of intrigue, brinkmanship and broken promises, wrought by Mountbatten and two of independent India's founding fathers: the country's most senior civil servant, V.P. Menon, and Congress strongman Vallabhbhai Patel. What India's architects described as a 'bloodless revolution' was anything but, as violence engulfed Kashmir and Indian troops crushed Hyderabad's dreams of independence.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMost princes accepted the inevitable, exchanging their power for guarantees of privileges and titles in perpetuity. But these dynasties were still led to extinction—not by the sword, but by political expediency—leaving them with little more than fading memories of a glorified past.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47536541040876,"sku":"9781805263098","price":39.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781805263098-dethroned.jpg?v=1776382639"},{"product_id":"the-house-of-jaipur-by-john-zubrzycki-9781787389595","title":"The House of Jaipur","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA gripping royal saga of charmed lives in a changing world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Jaipurs were India's mid-century golden couple; its answer to the Kennedys, or Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. Jai and Ayesha, as they were known to friends like Frank Sinatra, Truman Capote, and 'Dickie' Mountbatten, entertained lavishly at their magnificent palaces and hunting lodges in Rajasthan—and in the nightclubs of London, Paris, and New York. But as the Raj gave way to the new India, Jaipur—the most glamorous and romantic of the princely states—had to find its place.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe House of Jaipur\u003c\/i\u003e charts a dynasty's determination to remain relevant in a democracy set on crushing its privileges. Against the odds, they secured their place at the height of Indian society; but Ayesha would pay for her criticism of Indira Gandhi during the Emergency.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFrom the polo field and politics to imprisonment and personal tragedy, the Jaipurs' extraordinary journey of transformation mirrors the story of a rapidly changing country.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Thrilling, deeply satisfying...a must-read.' - \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Week\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'John Zubrzycki does an impressive job of...building up a memorable picture of a glittering family brought to its knees.' - \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eDaily Mail\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'As historian John Zubrzycki dives into the lives of India's most powerful ruling family in a new book, we look at the power players, past and present, of the grand royal dynasty.' - \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eTatler\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'A riveting saga...assiduously researched.' - \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eIndia Today\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47933309124844,"sku":"9781787389595","price":42.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781787389595-the-house-of-jaipur.jpg?v=1783865846"},{"product_id":"the-shortest-history-of-delhi-by-john-zubrzycki-9781760645557","title":"The Shortest History of Delhi","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe essential introduction to a city that has captivated imaginations for millennia.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDelhi, with its stories of intrigue and empire, decadence and artistry, destruction and rebirth, has been exhilarating travellers for centuries. Its history stretches back thousands of years, through invasions, empires and the struggle for independence.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis many-layered history can be seen on the streets of Delhi today - in ancient monuments to emperors, saints, princesses and eunuchs; in the domes of mosques clad in shimmering white marble; in stately Mughal gardens; and in the bustling laneways of its markets and neighbourhoods. Now, Delhi is a vast megalopolis, drawing people from all over the subcontinent, a cornucopia of religions, castes, languages and economic classes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eThe Shortest History of Delhi\u003c\/em\u003e, John Zubrzycki pairs an invigorating account of Delhi's past with an insider's guide to the city today.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47976801239276,"sku":"9781760645557","price":35.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781760645557-the-shortest-history-of-delhi.jpg?v=1784699736"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.live\/collections\/john-zubrzycki.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}