Not a book for a neophyte
Assumes a great deal of previous knowledge and is really not a primer on Indian history. Difficult to follow and make sense of.
By Jai Kapadia
Not the easiest read, but the book is still useful for refrence material. The glossary section is useful and the section focussing on the period of the Muslim dynasty is detailed.
Lovely Topic. It's A Shame It's So Poorly Written!
This is perhaps the most poorly written general history I have ever read. Assigned reading in a Modern Indian history course, I cannot recommend strongly enough that instructors and students avoid this text. The largest failing of this book is to poorly integrate the scope of the topic. The book goes from focusing on one tiny event in India to another, with absolutely no flowing, overarching narrative to tie them together. There is very little context given for most of the events described, and the reader is left wondering why certain actors are behaving the way they are. There also seems to be a strident anti-British tone throughout the text, which generally is a fair assessment for Indian historians to make, however the authors fail to capture the Pro-British vs. Anti-British debate within the reform movement with any objectivity, which is essential to understanding modern Indian history. Overall, a wonderful opportunity to introduce Westerners to the rich history of India has been wasted, and educational institutions everywhere should take note.
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