After more than twenty-five years in print, A New History of India continues to be the most readable and popular one-volume history of India available. This seventh edition has been entirely redesigned and includes new illustrations, bibliographic material, and an updated final chapter reflecting the significant social, political, and economic issues that have arisen since the year 2000. Wolpert condenses 4,000 years of India's history into a graceful and engaging book.
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Stanley Wolpert delivers one of the most concise yet thorough accounts of Indian history to date. He does an excellent job of looking at the development of the subcontinent from the days of BC to the modern Tamil and Pakistani conflicts afflicting the nation today. I read this book to get a background on India as a whole and was not disappointed in its quality. It goes into enough detail to understand the story of how India developed as a country with excellent references on where to get more information. Whether you are looking for a basic textbook of India or an introduction to a study for further use this is a great place to start. From a historical standpoint it is very difficult to write a great survey book but this delivers on every possible expectation for a survey. For those who have knowledge on this subject they may find this book maddeningly frustrating or subject to bias and revisionism however from a novice standpoint I do not see much evidence of that. The citations clearly point to sources where ideas come from and they can be verified through independent reading. Highly recommend for those wanting to learn more about India and how it developed as a nation.
I find it interesting (and annoying) that when I order a random toy item, that is not urgent, it comes quickly, but when I order a textbook that is required for a course I am taking and need for assignments that are already due, it takes forever for the item to begin the shipping process.
Wolpert's _History of India_ is an excellent introduction to the rich and complex history of the subcontinent. The opening chapters detailing the geography and pre-history of India are solid, his discussion of the gradual "Aryanization" of India with its attendant cultural, sociological and religious impacts are among the best I've read, and his extensive attention to the Mughals was both fascinating and clear in its exposition of the impact and influence of this period in India's history. In terms of a broad overview of Indian history up to its independence, this would be my first choice for those interested in a survey on Indian history. The most troublesome areas I found in the book were his treatment of India's history since independence.
While the political struggle and internal conflicts are presented in an objective manner, I wish Wolpert had given equal attention to the economic and social changes India has contended with since 1947. As a previous review points out, it seems as if very little has changed in India since the early 1970s. The socio-economic changes the sub-continent has experienced in the last 40 years is of tremendous importance, but it is scarcely addressed at all, to my disappointment. I similarly wish Wolpert had provided as much detail to the Gaupta and Kushan empires as he does to the Mughals and the period of British colonialism.
I immensely enjoyed Wolpert's writing style, and he provides much important historical context in understanding India; the chapters on early Indian history (Gaupta and Kushan periods) are not as strong as his later chapters on India's history, which is to the book's detriment. His lack of attention to the rapid changes India is experiencing more recently is similarly disappointing. In spite of this, there is much to like here - clearly I am of two minds regading this history. With a revised edition, this would certainly be a 5-star book. As it stands, Keay's India: A History. Revised and Updated is my first choice of a survey on Indian history.