India: A History. Revised and Updated
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.10 (759 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0802145582 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 640 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2016-05-02 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Excellent, but could use illustrations of the many shrines William J. Maddox Comprehensive history of India over 5,000 years to present. Excellent, but could use illustrations of the many shrines and temples mentioned. Author frequently switches back and forth between time periods without out clear delineation. Many of the places and leaders mentioned have multiple names, and the author confusingly switches among them while describing the period A directory would be helpful, likewise a dictionary giving the translation of the many Indian terms used would be helpful for reference when the words are repeatedly used. Maps presented are helpful given the ma. "Well written, open, and scientific." according to PG1Well written, open, and scientific. In my opinion, history should be written in a scientific manner; for archealogy is a science and so are the interpretations of its findings. (Histories of the past -- and unluckily some of them in our age -- have particularly suffered from a rather unscientific appoach.) Keay discusses at many points, scientifically, as to why he chooses a particular interpretation over the others. And as such, this book is a good text on how historians piece together events of the past.This is particuarly important since the current political, cultural, and religious evironments tend to distor. . In my opinion, history should be written in a scientific manner; for archealogy is a science and so are the interpretations of its findings. (Histories of the past -- and unluckily some of them in our age -- have particularly suffered from a rather unscientific appoach.) Keay discusses at many points, scientifically, as to why he chooses a particular interpretation over the others. And as such, this book is a good text on how historians piece together events of the past.This is particuarly important since the current political, cultural, and religious evironments tend to distor. "Good overview that seems to be pretty well empirically researched" according to Turnzilla. Good overview that seems to be pretty well empirically researched but is also still readable for the non-academic reader. Can get bogged down in names/dates/battles, but hey its a history.
Wide-ranging and authoritative, India: A History is a compelling epic portrait of one of the world’s oldest and most richly diverse civilizations.. Fully revised with forty thousand new words that take the reader up to present-day India, John Keay’s India: A History spans five millennia in a sweeping narrative that tells the story of the peoples of the subcontinent, from their ancient beginnings in the valley of the Indus to the events in the region today. In charting the evolution of the rich tapestry of cultures, religions, and peoples that comprise the modern nations of Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh, Keay weaves together insights from a variety of scholarly fields to create a rich historical narrative
His narrative begins in 3000 B.C., with the complex, and little-understood, Harappan period, a time of state formation and the development of agriculture and trade networks. One, for example, is the tendency to locate the source of social conflict in India's many religions--to which Keay retorts, "Historically, it was Europe, not India, which consistently made religion grounds for war." Taking the longest possible view, Keay surveys what is both provable and invented in the historical record. Fluently told and well documented, Keay's narrative history is of much value to students and general readers with an interest in India's past and present. Yet, observes historian John Keay, most historical work on I