“Book Descriptions: Veer Savarkar was the first man who called the mutiny of 1857 ‘A War of Independence’. Until his time; no Indian had dared to say so. The martyrs of 1857 are really fortunate that they got such a historian to tell their history who himself was both a historian and a creator of history. At times; we visualise Veer Savarkar coloured in the red colour of that revolution; as if he himself was present on the battlefield and participated in the heroic war. At other times; we see him patiently analyse the strengths and weaknesses of both sides—why the mutineers lost and why the British won. The way he analyses the politico-military aspects of the revolution shows his wisdom as a youth of 26 years. The Indian War of Independence; 1857; is a step by step account of the uprising of Indian Hindus and Muslims against the ruthless British rulers. Tracing footsteps of the barefooted; undernourished and almost unarmed Indian masses challenging the British bullets by the sheer force of their will power; the author establishes beyond an iota of doubt that the uprising was a War of Independence and not a mere Sepoy Mutiny as dubbed by the British. Some glaring truths about this book: • This book became the Bible for Indian revolutionaries. • The book was proscribed by the British Government before its publication. • The book was smuggled into India and England after it was published in Holland. • The demand for this book was so enormous that it used to be sold and resold at the stupendous price of Rs. 300 (in 1910).” DRIVE