About the Book : On his return home as the British Ambassador to Moscow the first thing Cripps had said to Churchill was that "this Indian problem must be solved". On his own admission India was ''uppermost" in his mind. He is said to have entered the coalition Government on condition that Britain made an earnest attempt at an early settlement of the Indian constitutional issue. The onus of presenting the British Cabinet proposals naturally rested with Cripps. What was the object of the Cripps Mission? Why did it fail? How did the U.S. Government value the British offer to resolve the political deadlock created in India after the outbreak of World War II over the issue of the transf r of power to Indian hands? In the following pages answers to these and to some other questions have been skilfully attempted. The Cripps Mission is indeed a significant episode in the worsening relations between India and British during the second World War. Despite its great importance, hardly any in-depth study has been made of this event. The story of the Cripps Mission has often been told from the British point of view. Dr. Mishra provides a stimulating and balanced study of the part played by the leading personalities of India, Great Britain, and the United States for the success and failure of the Cripps Mission. The work is an important contribution to the study of the history of India's struggle for freedom. About Author : Basanta Kumar Mishra specialises in the history of the freedom struggle of India. His interest in the subject dates back to his student days at college. Born in 1943, he took his Master's degree from Utkal University in 1965 with academic distinctions and obtained his Ph.D. from Sambalpur University in 1980. After entering the teaching career under the Government of Orissa in 1965, he proceeded to the University of Florida (U.S.A.) in 1970-71 to take a course in American History. An acclaimed teacher of history, Dr. Mishra is currently engaged in teaching and research at the Gangadhar Meher College, affiliated to the Sambalpur University of Orissa.