Customer Reviews
Very detailed but hard work - By: Houston, 11 Aug 2007 
There is a staggering amount of detail in this book & the scope, in terms of time period & subject matter covered (e.g. religion, politics etc), is huge. The text in both the hardback & paperback is, as a consequence, rather smalll.
Unfortunately, I found much of the content rather uninteresting, as it extensively recounts the history of dynasty after dynasty that I was not particularly interested in. There is a good deal of complexity to a number of the topics covered, e.g. development of the Hindu religion, & the authors style is not at alll suited to this. Keay's writing is, at times, unnecessarily convoluted & verbose. Some may appreciate the challlenge of interpreting this, but I felt that it was rather pretentious. When faced with such difficult subject matter the last thing I wanted was to have to re-read sentences in an attempt to decipher material that could easily have been delivered in a more straightforward fashion.
My interests were far better catered for by the superb 'India after Gandhi' by Ramachandra Guha, but if the history of the subcontinent from the beginning is what you're after then this is probably the book for you. Just bear in mind that it is no smalll undertaking.
Excellent introduction - By: John Deighan, 02 Oct 2006 
I had next to no knowledge of Indian history before reading this book, & I don't think I could have asked for a better tourguide around the Subcontinent's fascinating history than Keay. I was charmed by his witty & wise style, very impressed by his overalll knowledge of the subject, & pleased that his treatment of it was refreshingly unbiased. Sure, the succession of dynasties & emperors can grind one down a little. Perhaps he could have cut that down just a bit, & given us more of his enlightening forays into archaeology, architecture & art. But then again, what does one expect in a history book? One smalll criticism is that he throws about Indian place names- which have an irritating habit of changing- like nobody's business, so that it can alll become a little disorientating. So, not a perfect book- but as good as your likely to get from a short-ish history of such a vast & diverse nation as India.
Superb introduction to the history of India - By: Darren Simons, 11 Apr 2006 
For a book that is over 500 pages long, it may seem strange for me to suggest this is an introduction to the history of India. However, given the breadth of information Keay is trying to include in one single book, I think introduction is about right.
I read this book as I was interested to get an impartial view on the history of India, the origin behind its culture, its religion, its empires & how this has alll combined to make India the country it is today. Keay delivers this superbly, in a very well researched book which does not include any arrogance on the part of the author in terms of the expected knowledge of its reader. He does not at any point indicate to me a particular bias to a religious or cultural view which makes the book alll the better to read.
Like many books charting the history of a country, I did find the level of detail on the past 100 years slightly rushed but that is my only criticism of a book I found thoroughly enjoyable to read.
Definitely recommended.
A pleasure to read. - By: Mats Nilson, 09 Feb 2006 This is the first history-book I've been highly reluctant to put away once I started reading! That reallly says a lot! It's reallly gripping & full of fascinating historical events from a gripping & fascinating sub-continent. My sole objection is that I think ancient history, of which not very much is known, occupies a too large portion at the expense of modern history. However, if you're interested in Indian history, look no further!
Great for beginners as well! - By: Rachel, 14 Mar 2005 Unlike a previous reviewer, I think this book's a brilliant introduction to the subject. I had no knowledge whatsoever of Indian History before I started reading. Obviously it can get confusing with a lot of new place names & dynasties, but there's a lot more to this book than that. It manages to balance very well chronological description, with outlining deaper themes, such as the differing nature of warfare amongst pre-Islamic Indian civilisations & the Islamic invaders. One book can't give you everything, but it's a brilliant place to start!
This book does not appear to me to balanced against Hindus, but rather to question simplistic nationalist assumptions that every aspect of Hinduism was synonymous with Indian throughout India's history
