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India: A History
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$19.95
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$13.57
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Manufacturer: Grove Press
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 954
EAN: 9780802137975
ISBN: 0802137970
Label: Grove Press
Manufacturer: Grove Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 578
Publication Date: 2001-05-10
Publisher: Grove Press
Studio: Grove Press
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Editorial Reviews:
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John Keay's India: A History is a probing and provocative chronicle of five thousand years of South Asian history, from the first Harrapan settlements on the banks of the Indus River to the recent nuclear-arms race. In a tour de force of narrative history, Keay blends together insights from a variety of scholarly fields and weaves them together to chart the evolution of the rich tapestry of cultures, religions, and peoples that makes up the modern nations of Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh. Authoritative and eminently readable, India: A History is a compelling epic portrait of one of the world's oldest and most richly diverse civilizations.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Indian Subcontinent's Rich Mosaic
Comment: John Keay largely succeeds in his endeavor of reviewing the key milestones in the rich history of the Indian Subcontinent in a little more than 500 pages. Although Keay mainly focuses on India, he also looks at the influence of what are today's Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, to name a few countries, on India.
For the most part, Keay gives his audience a balanced, honest appraisal of what is known and what is controversial in the history of the region. The perspective that Keay weaves for his readers ultimately forms an intricate tapestry that illuminates the deep influence of diverse civilizations, religions, and people on South Asia.
In his narrative, Keay mainly sticks to a traditional approach to history that focuses on the most important events of each period. Whoever is looking for an in-depth overview of the uses and customs of ordinary people of the Indian Subcontinent will probably be disappointed. Furthermore, Keay sometimes gets bogged down into too much detail that slows down the narrative.
On the other hand, patient readers will derive much benefit from Keay's exploration of South Asia. The challenges and opportunities of the Indian Subcontinent will become clear to them by the end of Keay's journey. The pictures reproduced in Keay's book are also a compelling motivator to travel and use all one's senses to better know that increasingly important region of the world.
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Summary: A very well received student assistance
Comment: I am currently undertaking my last year of schooling and this thorough, historical text is an immense help. It is so helpful in providing Modern History students with the background and fine details of India through the years and is a fascinating read!!
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Summary: A Missed Opportunity
Comment: This is a disappointing book. In preparation for a trip to India, I was searching for a readable general history of the country and from the reviews, Keay's book seemed the most appropriate. Admittedly, a general history of India is a tall order considering its length and complexity. One can expect someone who undertakes the challenge, however,to bring clarity and some structure to the chaos of events. That is where Keay fails most conspicuously. There is no overriding theme to the narrative and even his chapters, which are divided into convenient chronological segments, lack coherent structure. It seems to quote an oft-used phrase a recitation of "one darned thing after another". It need not have been so as for example John Fairbank has demonstrated in his histories of China--an equally daunting task.
Alternatively, Keay could have written a book that might be a useful reference. Unfortunatley, the book is organized in such a way that its value as a reference work is virtually nil.
The book is not totally useless, however. The maps, and there are many of them, are excellent and the dynastic diagrams are helpful if one wishes to delve that deeply into the subject. There is no doubt that Keay has a command of his subject. It is too bad that could not have translated his knowledge into a more accessible work
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Summary: Slow Going
Comment: India: A History by John Keay
****
Slow Going
I picked up John Keay's -India: A History, as part of an effort to fill in some of the blanks in my education. It may have been overly ambitious on my part, as I found it slow going. Keay is undoubtedly an expert on his subject, the 5,000 year history of one of the largest and fastest growing economies on earth. His account of the early history of the country is detailed, but simply too involved for the casual reader to follow. The use of maps and illustration helps considerably. Maybe it's just intellectual laziness on my part, but I simply couldn't stay focused on this.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent , but.....
Comment: This is a great review of Indian history. It covers everything from the earliest times to the present. It is well written and quite detailed. My only criticism of the book would be that it lacks good diagrams and maps - it would have been nice to have had color maps with more detail, and more photographs relating to some of the places he references.
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