
It gives an interesting human context for the building of the Taj Mahal, and the lifestyles of the Mongul emporers that ruled in India at the time. I went in unsure about whether I would like this or not, and almost quit a couple times, but I'm glad I endured. Yet, as Diana and Michael Preston vividly convey in the first narrative history of the Taj Mahal, it also reflects the magnificent history of the Moghul Empire, beginning with legendary warriors Genghis Khan and Tamburlaine. The story of its creation is a fascinating blend of cultural and architectural heritage. Built by the Moghul emperor Shah Jahan as a memorial to his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal, its flawless symmetry and gleaming presence have for centuries dazzled all who have seen it. Publisher.While Galileo was suffering under house arrest at the hands of Pope Urban VIII, the Thirty Years War was ruining Europe, and the Pilgrims were struggling to survive in the New World, work began on what would become one of the Seven Wonders of the World: the Taj Mahal.

A tale of overwhelming passion, the story of the Taj has the cadences of Greek tragedy and the ripe emotion of grand opera, and puts a memorable human face on the marble masterpiece.

With the storytelling skills that characterize their previous books, the Prestons bring alive both the grand sweep of Moghul history and the details that make it memorable. Yet, as Diana and Michael Preston vividly convey in the first narrative history of the Taj, it also reflects the magnificent history of the Moghul Empire itself, for it turned out to mark the high point of the empire's glory at the same time as it became a tipping point in Moghul fortunes. Built by the Moghul emperor Shah Jahan as a memorial to his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal, the Taj Mahal's flawless symmetry and gleaming presence have for centuries dazzled everyone who has seen it, and the story of its creation is a fascinating blend of cultural and architectural heritage.

This book tells the dazzling story of the Taj Mahal and the empire whose spirit it epitomizes.
