In 2013 two significant books were published dealing with the creation of Bangladesh, one by Srinath Raghavan (1971: A Global History of the Creation of Bangladesh, Permanent Black, Ranikhet) and the other under review here. In terms of their databases and analyses, they are both outstanding. This, in spite of Bass’s reminder that the most sensitive wartime records remain classified and at times even White House tapes are edited to maintain secrecy (p. 289).