India: A History. Revised and Updated

John Keay, in writing a one volume history of one of the world's largest and oldest civilizations set himself a gargantuan task, and has pulled it off rather well. The work is not perfect, but it's merits far outweigh any defects. To begin with, the early part of the book covering the ancient times is perhaps the most difficult to follow, but when one reaches around AD 1,000 it becomes more readable. The early years, chronicling the early settler civilizations such as the Aryans and the Dravidians at times resemble a travelogue, and one may find themselves lost as some of these peoples are not adequately characterized. Perhaps the most monumental figure of ancient India, Ashoka, gets too little mention. He does receive a chapter, but such a key figure deserves much greater depth. Having said this, the book becomes far more readable and informative when it reaches the Mughal Empire, and the coverage of the British conquest, rule and ultimately independence is superbly done. A particular strength is that Keay does not take the easy way out post 1947 and simply chronicle the Republic of India, rather he gives a full coverage of the key events shaping all 3 successor states, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. It must be said that Keay's chronicling of the modern history of the Indian subcontinent is superb, and if he follows through with a modern history of India (a possibility he hints at in the introduction) I will certainly read it. However, the book, as a complete history of India succeeds, and delivers a reasonably objective and impartial account. For those who are interested purely in modern India, this book is still highly recommended as the modern section is superb. However, any enthusiast of India should at the very least attempt John Keay's chronicle of this spellbinding civilization.

A very detailed history. Some bits are a bit dry but overall a good read. Hasn't quite got the flair of Tom Holland or Peter Frankopan

I should explain that I only read the second half of this book, from about 1600 when the British became involved. I bought it because I wanted to know more about the British East India Company, and also wanted an overview of the history since partition. For these purposes the book was great. On Amazon.co.uk many reviews refer to the book being hard work to read, and many American reviews describe it as dry. I found it neither, although it did take me thirty or forty pages to tune into the author's style, which is really high-grade journalism, not to question his scholarship. It reads like an articulate lecture by someone who thoroughly understands his subject. One reviewer said you need some prior knowledge. Perhaps you do. I came to the book with knowledge of post-independence India being only what I had gleaned from newspapers over the years, but that was enough. I had also many years ago read Gandhi's autobiography, which is a book that sticks in the mind. Regarding the East India Company and the development of British rule, Keay dispels any notion of the British as avuncular colonists. When push came to shove they were decisive and at times brutal. We Brits like to appear as nice imperialists. Effective yes; nice, not unless it was convenient. Having said that the Brits and Indians appear to have had a certain mutual regard. The story since independence is complex and fast-moving and I felt Keay told the story with conviction. He doesn't burden his text with footnotes, jargon or prevarication and plonks his opinion down on the page, which is just as well given how much he has to tell. He has a tendency to try and see the positive in authoritarian actions by different rulers, for example Indira Gandhi and Bhutto. Gandhi instituted a rule of emergency but according to Keay she did it temporarily in order to sort out a raft of administrative disasters, which she did before returning the country to democracy. I enjoyed what I read of this book very much and would recommend it.

Well written and nice to hold

Often in books it is knowing what to leave out that is more important than what you put it. John Keay has inserted every name he came across in his meticulous research, resulting in a bombardment of information that fails to cling to any narrative. New names are dropped very few sentences without an introduction. Many disappear just as fast, most of whom it seems have a place in Indian history but many of whom perhaps should not have had a place in this book. The book assumes prior knowledge of many of these events. John Keay is afraid to set to scene or go over the main (and many times important) details, lest he bore an academic. The Indian mutiny is never referenced in a heading but as “1857 and all that”. The book therefore gets lost between two positions. It is neither and an overarching history of India nor a detailed periodic one. Even major events often only get a sentence of two. I disagree with the sentiment of some reviewers that the style is dry and academic. Individual sentences are often well crafted, often witty. But the incessant jumping around make this extremely difficult to read and tough to grab ones attention. The book improved from when the Brits arrived, as details were covered in more depth and Keay (and reader) are more familiar with matters. Even still I found the narrative grating, very far removed from ability William Dalrymple has in the book “The Anarchy” of conveying an interlocking story, rather than a series of disconnected sentences.

The current history books of India are woefully out of date. KEAYS fulls this niche with an easily readable text. Highly recommended by one of the greatest historians of Asia.

A very readable history of such an ancient and great civilization. Usually these kinds complete histories can be so stifling and boring — lists of dates and battles and kings. — but this book keep you interested and keeps you coming back for more. John Keay is a fascinating story teller. But this is not a story, it is real history, made quite interesting by his excellent writing.

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Das mit der indischen Geschichte ist nicht ganz einfach. Nicht nur ist diese für den Leser ein schreckliches Durcheinander von diversen Kulturen und Reichen, auch die indischen Namen sind nicht immer ganz einfach zu merken - zumal diese gelegentlich auch noch mehrfach Verwendung finden. Und dann gibt es auch noch das Problem, dass man sich über vieles streiten kann, weil die Überlieferung bis in die frühe Neuzeit eben nicht gerade anwenderfreundlich ist, also man auf viele Punkte nur indirekt schließen kann. Und das macht dann die Geschichtsschreibung in Indien zu einem Minenfeld, denn dort soll aus der fernen Vergangenheit auch immer mal wieder die eine oder andere Tagespolitik begründet werden. Als Beispiel für diese Diskussionen müssen wohl auch der Prozess und die Einordnung der arischen Einwanderung gelten. John Keay macht aus dieser Situation eine ganze Menge. Obwohl das Buch nicht gerade kurz ist, erzählt er nicht sklavisch alle Details nach sondern setzt Schwerpunkte, die ihm dann erlauben, die wesentlichen Gründe und Argumente für bestimmte Theorien nachvollziehbar machen. Ganz undogmatisch entscheidet er sich dann für eine wahrscheinliche Theorie als Grundlage seiner Darstellung, lässt aber offen, ob nicht spätere Funde oder bessere Argumente noch einmal zu einer anderen Wertung führen können. Im Kern folgt er dabei Leitlinien, die sich auch in anderen Büchern über indische Geschichte finden, er bewegt sich also auf sicheren akademischen Boden. Das einzelne seiner Stellungnahmen aber dennoch hier auf Amazon kritisiert werden, ist vieleicht verständlich, stellt aber aus meiner Sicht keine wirkliche Kritik am Buch selbst dar. Eine Freude zu lesen ist dieses Buch aber aus einem anderen Grund: Es ist einfach sehr, sehr gut geschrieben. Ich habe einmal gelesen, dass man sich dann etwas gut merken kann, wenn man eine emotionale Verbindung zu etwas entwickelt. Und da ist es mit dem Lernen von Daten und Fakten aus der indischen Geschichte eben nicht ganz einfach. Ein Reich, ein Herrscher scheint jeweils seinen Vorgänger abgelöst zu haben, ohne dass sich in der Struktur der Herrschaft wirklich etwas verändert hat. Anders: Es fällt eben gerade nicht so einfach, aufgrund der überlieferten Faktenlage die Guten und die Bösen in dieser Geschichte zu identifizieren. Keay sucht sich aber aus den vorhandenen Informationen das heraus, was die handelnden Menschen in dieser Geschichte lebendig werden lässt, er baut auf einzelnen, überlieferten Anekdoten auf und macht daraus kleine Biographien. Und die bleiben dann im Gedächtnis. Dass daneben auch die strukturellen Veränderungen dargestellt werden (Beispiel: Entwicklung der Administration bis hin zum Reich der Mogul), macht das dann zu einer wirklich gelungenen Gesamtansicht.

This book is definitely not a light read and the language can also be a difficult to follow for a lay reader. A reader with a decent understanding of Indian history will be able to follow the book, but harder for those not attuned to Indian history. Whats good about it is that it is comprehensive and detailed.