History of India Series (Dorset Press Reprints Series) [Hardcover]

Herman Kulke (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0880295775 | ISBN-13: 978-0880295772 | Publication Date: October 1990 | Edition: REPRINT Edition

The history of India is an extraordinary epic of a great civilisation. From the early cultures of the Indus through to the glittering power of the Mughal Empire the richness of Indian history has been magnificent. In the modern period India's experience has been equally fascinating. She encountered Western dominance, regained her independence and emerged as one of the most important nations of the world. This compact synthesis presents the grand sweep of Indian history from antiquity to the present. It emphasises the structural pattern of Indian history rather than the chronology of events. The book seeks to explain major political, economic, social and cultural forces which have shaped the history of the Indian subcontinent. First published in hardback in 1986, this new paperback edition has been thoroughly revised and updated in view of recent events and contains an updated bibliography.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Kulke and Rothermund's work provides an authoritative and detailed account of the structural pattern of Indian history. Through first rate scholarship, the authors have done a fabulous work in delineating the various nuances of India's glorius historical past while presenting readers with a much needed and highly readable survey." Mohammed Badrul Alam, Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: German --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 409 pages
• Publisher: Barnes Noble; REPRINT Edition edition (October 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0880295775
• ISBN-13: 978-0880295772
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,828,941 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite one-volume history of India, November 4, 2001

By 

Tom L. Forest (Forest Grove, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A History of India (Paperback)

This book is mercifully brief on the deconstruction of literary sources that South Asian area studies are prone to and (again quoting the on-target cover copy) "emphasises and analyses the structural pattern of Indian history." I wish it was longer than 335 pages.

The first 2/3 of the book covers the pre-British period -- a good fraction. While relating more of the military viscitudes than I would like, there is some consideration of social, religious, and economic issues as well as ruling strategies. And the focus on 'great empires' is less than in most Indian histories, which is good since India has spent much more time disunited than united.

Kulke and Rothermund break with the Hindu/Islamic/British periodization of Indian history, breaking periods before the Guptas and before the Mughals. All in all, it is a substantial improvement over Romila Thapar's effort, and a huge improvement over Stanley Wolpert's book.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A concise and beatiful rendition about the history of India, November 9, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: A History of India (Paperback)

This is a thoughtful and well researched book. It answers some of the questions which bother most Indians are we aryans or dravidians, how did the indus valley civilization dissappear . The manner in which they explain the myths like the one about the vijayanagar empire tells us about the research put in by the authors. I would recommend this book to novices as well as connosieurs of Indian history

8 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A Eurocentric view of India, November 30, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: A History of India (Paperback)

This book is, like most other books on India, a Eurocentric view of the subject. It's shortcomings have been well documented by Dilip Chakrabarti, the archaeology professor at Cambridge University, in his seminal book COLONIAL INDOLOGY.