Revised and Updated: A Comprehensive History of India

Gerard M. St-cyr: Well written!

United States on Mar 18, 2024

Rishav: John Keay has produced a masterful work of history. It is incredibly difficult to touch base on major historical events of any country, in a single volume, but such historical texts are essential. Otherwise, people might never venture to have a comprehensive grasp of the events that have led to the present circumstances.

After reading this book, one can refer to the more elaborate but narrow history of a specific era of Indian history. But, as an introductory text, it is unequalled.

India on May 11, 2023

MARCOS ANGELO GRIMONE: Livro essencial para conhecer a Índia. Gostei bastante porque pouco conheço a região. Leitura agradável.

Brazil on Jun 13, 2020

Amazon Customer: Very happy with books! Shipping was good, Thankyou!

Canada on May 24, 2020

Blaise Wagner: In 3000 pages this covers the range of Indian history, including Pakistan and Bangladesh, from the Harrapan civilization of 3000 BC to the present day.

The first few chapters discuss archaeology as well as history, since there are no written records of the Harrapan civilization, and records are scarce for later civilizations, including the period in which the epic poems Mahabharata and Ramayana were written, as well as the life of Buddha. The historical record starts appearing with the reign of Ashoka who left inscriptions on numerous columns around the country, but it is fragmentary for many centuries after that.

There was more detail on the subsequent dynasties than I could absorb on a first reading. A second reading might help. Some readers might prefer studying a less complete introduction like the excellent series of videos, Story of India, produced by Michael Wood.

A high point in the book is a discussion of Mughals, Muslim invaders who are responsible for many of the most impressive Indian monuments, including the Taj Mahal, and the Fatehpur Sikri of Akbar the Great. The rulers from this period seem to have been psychopaths who did...

United States on May 29, 2019

Pamela: A very readable history of such an ancient and great civilization. Usually these kinds complete histories can be so stifling and boring — lists of dates and battles and kings. — but this book keep you interested and keeps you coming back for more. John Keay is a fascinating story teller. But this is not a story, it is real history, made quite interesting by his excellent writing.

Japan on Oct 13, 2017

Phil Dolliff: This is an outstanding general history of India and is strongly recommended. The narrative is very well written and organized, making it a very useful broad discussion of Indian history. I had read a similar general history of India 15 years ago and this book is far better written and includes much recent scholarship.

There a few minor challenges to the book, in particular its introduction to the European presence in India is weak but it eventually recovers the narrative as the British presence becomes a real factor in India.

All that said, this book is long. In that context, it is a great book for those interested in Indian history. For those interested in a short summary, look elsewhere.

I read this book to prepare for a my first tourist trip to India and loved it -- it brought to life the great palaces in Delhi and Agra and made real the forces that shaped India such as modern nationalism, the Raj, and the Chola.

United States on Dec 02, 2015

Niclas Grabowski: Das mit der indischen Geschichte ist nicht ganz einfach. Nicht nur ist diese für den Leser ein schreckliches Durcheinander von diversen Kulturen und Reichen, auch die indischen Namen sind nicht immer ganz einfach zu merken - zumal diese gelegentlich auch noch mehrfach Verwendung finden. Und dann gibt es auch noch das Problem, dass man sich über vieles streiten kann, weil die Überlieferung bis in die frühe Neuzeit eben nicht gerade anwenderfreundlich ist, also man auf viele Punkte nur indirekt schließen kann. Und das macht dann die Geschichtsschreibung in Indien zu einem Minenfeld, denn dort soll aus der fernen Vergangenheit auch immer mal wieder die eine oder andere Tagespolitik begründet werden. Als Beispiel für diese Diskussionen müssen wohl auch der Prozess und die Einordnung der arischen Einwanderung gelten.

John Keay macht aus dieser Situation eine ganze Menge. Obwohl das Buch nicht gerade kurz ist, erzählt er nicht sklavisch alle Details nach sondern setzt Schwerpunkte, die ihm dann erlauben, die wesentlichen Gründe und Argumente für bestimmte Theorien nachvollziehbar machen. Ganz undogmatisch entscheidet er sich dann für eine...

Germany on Mar 21, 2013

Kirk: First off, let me explain why I wanted to read this book. I realized a few years ago that there were massive parts of the world, for example the "Middle East" and China, about whose history I knew nothing. I couldn't have told you what the lands of Arabia were like prior to the present day, or when the imperial age ended in China, etc. So I started to collect and read some history books that gave the reader an overview of the known history of a particular region. Thus far, I've read such a book about the Middle East and China. India was next for me.

My review, then, is based on my judgment about the book as in introduction to and survey of the history of the region of world currently known as India. For my purposes, I find the book to be quite good. India seems to defy extensive historical summary because of the many different people who have lived in the region throughout history and the relative lack of documentation detailing the early history of those people and their political associations. Like China, India's multitude of kingdoms had elastic borders, with many contemporary nations occupying the subcontinent at any given time. Referring to...

United States on Aug 09, 2011