Planet India: How the Fastest Growing Democracy Is Transforming America and the World (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: nuclear deal, United States, New York, India Imagines the Future (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Mira Kamdar takes the seemingly endless historical and cultural cross currents of India and weaves them together into a story that bears on the whole world. She combines her admiration and affection for India and its people with a keen eye for its contradictory impulses, taking readers deep inside an India that is fighting for modernity on its own terms, but also changing, for good and ill, in response to dynamics beyond its control. Indians, both within and outside their country, are changing the fates of people everywhere. "Planet India" is our planet." -- Ted Fishman, author of "China Inc."

Review

"Mira Kamdar takes the seemingly endless historical and cultural cross currents of India and weaves them together into a story that bears on the whole world. She combines her admiration and affection for India and its people with a keen eye for its contradictory impulses, taking readers deep inside an India that is fighting for modernity on its own terms, but also changing, for good and ill, in response to dynamics beyond its control. Indians, both within and outside their country, are changing the fates of people everywhere. Planet India is our planet." -- Ted Fishman, author of China Inc.

"Planet India could become one of the most discussed books of the year. Kamdar's book is differenct from other similar themed books--it throws a challenge to the government, business leaders, voluntary organizations and ordinary citizens,and non-resident Indians, to make the Indian Success story meaningful even to the poorest of its citizens." -- India Abroad

"This book is an absolute MUST read. It's by far the best book on India and globalization to date and on top of that it's a fun read." -- Clyde Prestowitz, author of Rogue Nation and Three Billion New Capitalists

"This briskly written, vivid account shows how that subcontinental country's films, technology, and service industries have made India an ever-growing presence on the American scene."-- Atlantic Monthly

"Planet India is a worthy addition to the burgeoning shelf of serious books about 21st century India."-- Shashi Tharoor, Times of India --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Scribner (February 20, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743296850
• ISBN-13: 978-0743296854
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #395,229 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I nearly gave up on this book about 1/3 through...., July 30, 2007

By	D. Chambers (Arizona) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

...but then it really got good. The first 1/3 of the book is full of gee-whiz statistics on growth. It is also full of what I call "Reader's Digest" subchapters that gush excessively, in the genre of: ("Mr. X ushered me into his elegant office, high above the immaculate tech campus. Sales grew at 83% last year, mainly due to American outsourcing...") or ("the girls upon graduation could produce PowerPoint presentations;") just what the world needs more of.

Then we get into the really great parts of the book. All of India's shortcomings are examined realistically, from pollution of the groundwater and air, caste differences, religious hatred, a dozen or two languages, the bomb, the lack of any real education or medical care or opportunity for most of the vast population, corruption, the suppression of women, lack of electricity and airports, global warming, ethnic uprisings, Pakistan, China, etc, and no punches are pulled.

In short there is a real question as to whether success in India will be like success in Mexico: a widening gap between rich and poor that grows worse each decade. Several reviewers have inferred from the book that global success for India is inevitable. Perhaps, but not necessarily.

The book is really superb. I liken it to "Guns, Germs, and Steel" which explained how physical and cultural geography determined why certain areas of the globe prospered in centuries past. Planet India gives us the physical and cultural elements to try and deduce India's future. Frankly, it's not looking good, except for a small oligarchic class. But good luck to them, and good luck to America.

Just because I am not as positive on the outcome does not make this book any less fascinating. Enjoy!

25 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a must read on India and the world, February 24, 2007

By	Michele Wucker "Author of LOCKOUT and WHY THE... (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you agree that it is impossible to understand America's future without engaging with what is happening in the rest of the world, I urge you to read Planet India. Interviewing a wide range of people, from Bollywood movie producers to indebted farmers committing suicide to tea merchants and U.S. software engineers working in India, Mira gives the flavor of India today, tells how it got there, and gives a sense of where it is going along with what its decisions will mean for the entire planet.
Mira is not afraid to break taboos, and she addresses both the tremendous optimism and potential in India as well as the Herculean challenges that the country faces. In Planet India, you'll get the human side of the story as well as that of the geo-political and economic implications of what is going on in India.

In my own work, I have written about the many Indian professionals make both entrepreneurial and philanthropic contributions to their country of birth. I also have had to tell the regrettable stories of many Indians who are contributing their tremendous skills to the United States but often have trouble negotiating our immigration bureaucracy, partly as a consequence of America's deep ambivalence about our relationship with the rest of the world. India's rise can be attributed in no small part to its leaders' understanding that engaging globally is the key to the future.

You also will want to check out Mira's beautiful first book, Motiba's Tattoos, which uses family memoir to shed light on history and the present.

Michele Wucker, Author of Lockout: Why America Keeps Getting Immigration Wrong When Our Prosperity Depends on Getting It Right (PublicAffairs Press, 2006)

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, but incomplete..., July 27, 2007

By	Vagabond Songwriter - See all my reviews

Mira Kamdar presents an excellent overview on modern India and its increasing influence on America and the world. She makes clear arguments for India's influence on economic, cultural, and social developments but leaves out an important one; spirituality. The impact of Hindu and Buddhist spirutuality on America and the world is ever increasing but for some reason, she decided not to discuss it (or lost a fight with the editors/publishers). I would be glad to see a second edition of this book which included the increasing spiritual impact of India on the rest of the world, and what it means for all of us.