Customer Reviews

India before Europe

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It must be pointed out that books on India History seem to be rather scarce if compared to other civilizations (such as China, Islam or Europe). So when I found this book I decide it to give it a chance, in despite of not finding previous comments on it.

I have the impression that Asher and Talbot want to cover its subject with a new approach, and for that they blend the following matters in a peculiar way: (i) politics, (ii) architecture as a tool for power to display and claim legitimacy (they spent many interesting pages describing mosques, palaces, temples, shrines and so on); (iii) court and elite culture. If compared to other more common explanation schemes, economics are treated succinctly. No data on the way the common folk lived are provided. Besides, the authors stress that presenting Islam and Hinduism as confronted realities would be an anachronic simplification laden with present-day political views.

All that (and much more that I do not mention in this summary) is developed in 300 pages, the book being divided in the following chapters: 1.- Introduction: situating India. 2.- The expansion of Turkic power, 1180-1350. 3.- Southern India in the Age of Vijayanagara, 1350-1550. 4.- North India between empires: history, society, and culture, 1350-1550. 5.- Sixteenth-century North India: empire reformulated. 6.- Expanding political and economic spheres, 1550-1650. 7.- Elite cultures in seventeenth-century South Asia. 8.- Challenging central authority, 1650-1750. 9.- Changing socio-economic formations, 1650-1750. Epilogue. Biographical notes. Bibliography (no footnotes are include in the text).

The book is no very engaging, but it is not dry either. It can be savoured by the professional historian, and, perhaps, by the educated layperson too. Therefore, my rate is between 5 (content) and 3 (pleasure, sometimes falling to 2, sometimes raising to 4).

Other book that I would recommend to read would be "Gem in the Lotus: The Seeding of Indian Civilisation" by Abraham Eraly. "Al-Hind" by Andre Wink (an intended work in five volumes, three of which have already been published) also seems interesting (although I have not read it yet).And, above all, I would reccomend "The Shape of Ancient Thought: Comparative Studies in Greek and Indian Philosophies" by Thomas McEvilley.

People interested in Hindu-Muslim relations in India should read this book if they want to know what it was really like in the past instead of listening to self-interested politicians/activists/religious groups etc.

This is an excellent book of lucid essays that helps orient one to Indian history. Splendid on political history, art and religion.I greatly enjoyed reading it.

I have not read this book. However I wanted to make a comment to potential readers before they buy this book. It's probably well-researched and informative. However, it's important for readers to realize that while India wasn't invaded by Western Europeans until then, it was invaded by Turkic and Persian speaking nations several times (and that's not going back to Alexander the Great 2,300 years ago) -- Europeans might not have been aggressors until 1750, but there were lots of other aggressors prior to that.