The Shortest History of India: From the World’s Oldest Civilization to Its Largest Democracy

Shortest History

by John Zubrzycki

5,000 years of history—from the Bhagavad Git ā  to Bollywood—fill this masterful portrait of the world’s most populous nation and a rising global power.  The Shortest History books deliver thousands of years of history in one riveting, fast-paced read.

India—a cradle of civilization with five millennia of history, a country of immense consequence and contradiction—often defies ready understanding. What holds its people together—across its many cultures, races, languages, and creeds—and how has India evolved into the liberal democracy it is today?
 
From the Harappān era to Muslim invasions, the Great Mughals, British rule, independence, and present-day hopes, John Zubrzycki distills India’s colossal history into a gripping true story filled with legendary Alexander the Great, Akbar, Robert Clive, Tipu Sultan, Lakshmi Bai, Lord Curzon, Jinnah, and Gandhi. India’s gifts to the world include Buddhism, yoga, the concept of zero, the largest global diaspora—and its influence is only growing. Already the world’s largest democracy, in 2023, India became the most populous nation.
 
Can India overcome its political, social, and religious tensions to be the next global superpower? As the world watches—and wonders—this Shortest History is an essential, clarifying read.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, India, Audiobook, Asia, Historical, Travel

288 pages, Paperback

First published May 3, 2022

About the author

John Zubrzycki is an award-winning journalist whose long association with India has included stints as a Hindi student, diplomat, consultant and foreign correspondent. He is the world commentary editor at the Australian newspaper and lives in Sydney.

Reviews

[Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars for The Shortest History of India (audiobook) by John Zubrzycki read by Julian Elfer.

I enjoyed this quick overview of how this ancient cultural has transformed its self into the modern India that we know.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I understand that squeezing 5,000 years of history into 250 pages is a very difficult job, this book is not, as I had hoped, a good introduction to India's long history. It would have been helpful to have included a few more general maps, and a few pages on geographical and other divisions and markers, so that the reader could more easily follow the sweep of history.

[Uthish Balaji · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two things that I felt were important to point out :

Kargil war was condensed to 4 words, I felt that needed more explaining considering that 2 nuclear neighbors came dangerously close to an all out war back in 1999.

Tamil Nadu and most South Indian history were relegated to footnotes here and there. But I can’t blame the author who was given the monumental task of condensing India’s rich, diverse and long history into a 260 page book.

[Sasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

well written, accessible + informative!

[Jono · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a subject I know very much about, so I enjoyed the overview. It felt like there were some rose-tinted spectacles being applied to the view of pre-colonial India as a nirvana of prosperity and tolerance, but perhaps that is true. The final few chapters about the 20th and 21st Centuries were where this book was best (though not without some bias it seems to me).

[Joe Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an okay read, I wanted to know more about trains 🚞

[ნიკოლოზ მაისურაძე · Rating 5 out of 5]

ინდოეთის ისტორია ისტორიამდელი ეპოქიდან დღევანდელ პრემიერ-მინისტრამდე.

ამ წიგნით აღვიქვი რატომ დუღს ინდოეთის ირგვლივ და რატომ არის პაკისტანი ისლამური სახელმწიფო.

თხრობა არის წყალივით, თემა არის შეკუმშული, არ არის შემზარავი თვალის ამაცრემლიანებელი მოსაწყენი დეტალიზაცია, რაც თითქმის ყველა ისტორიულ თხრობას ახასიათებს.

ამ წიგნის დასრულებით გავტეხე გრძელი სტრიკი, რაც იყო დაუსრულებელი წიგნები.

[Michael Erickson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Indian history has long been a blindspot for me and previous attempts to learn about it have basically said, "nothing important happened before the British arrived and nothing worth mentioning occurred after Partition." That's obviously not the case, and this high-level summary definitely shed light on the bigger picture that usually gets overlooked by more eurocentric recaps.

Besides the delve into the deep past, I particularly appreciated how recent this book was and how it discussed topics that I remember as news stories happening in just the past few years (the 2016 banknote demonetisation, the 2019 citizenship fast-track for non-muslim immigrants, the 2020 skirmishes with China over the Line of Actual Control, etc.). It even looked forward to the (now completed) 2024 Indian general election.

Yes, parts of this book read like a constant stream of names I've never heard of before all stabbing each other in the backs over centuries of court intrigue, but at least it's something I'd never been exposed to before. For a country that's projected to have more English speakers than the USA by the mid 2030's, this is a country that cannot be ignored, and learning about how it got back to the global stage is going to become important in the future.

[Yoana]

Втори прочит: И по-подробното гмурване не е особено вълнуващо. Ок е, ако човек не знае нищо и иска бърз обзор. На места има уместен политически анализ. Но препускането през 5000 г. е по-скоро уморително и дезориентиращо, отколкото информативно, поне за мен.

Не съм голяма почитателка на историческите книги, така че няма да давам оценка. На мен лично ми е скучно да ги чета - особено частите, които са просто изреждане на битки, кой къде с кого се бил и кой спечелил. Както с почти всички исторически текстове, твърде малко място в отделено на културната, социалната и интелектуалната история за сметка на военната и политическата. Но вместването на 5000 години в 230 страници вероятно изисква много съкращения.

Частта със съвременната история, от създаването на движението за освобождение на Индия, е доста по-интересна.

[Rupert Matthews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fascinating.
I'm sure that this book has missed out lots of important information in order to squeeze the entire history of the subcontinent into just 260 pages, but as a starter introduction to this fascinating subject it does the job very well indeed.
It covers religion, culture, wealth and trade as well as the more usual things that you find in a history book - kings, rulers, battles and rebellions. The author has done his best to remain even handed as he approaches the modern day - not easy given the passions aroused by policies and individuals in Indian politics over the past decade or so.
obviously, i am now going to need to do a bit more detailed study of various aspects of the Indian story, but this has been a great introduction.

[Shanereads · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Shortest History of India was indeed a short historical read. Thousands of years of history covered in less than 300 pages. I did some learn some very interesting things that I had not known prior, and if you enjoy history books you will definitely enjoy this one.

This review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. Huge thanks to The Experiment for my review copy!

[MarcoLaw26 · Rating 5 out of 5]

FR:
« Tout ce que je sais, c’est que je ne sais rien » a dit un jour Socrate. Lire ce livre m’a fait rendre compte que j’ai au moins un point commun avec le philosophe Grec.
Comme son nom l’indique, ce court ouvrage de John Zubrzycki paru en 2022 relate l’histoire de ce pays ancestral qu’est l’Inde, de la civilisation Harapénne en 3000 av. J-C jusqu’à la pandémie de 2020. J’y ai appris énormément de choses sur l’histoire de l’Inde. Que demander de plus au final? Très bien écrit, simple à comprendre même en anglais. Je recommande pour tous ceux qui s’intéressent au « pays des mille couleurs ». 5/5.

EN:
« The only thing I know is that I know nothing » said once Socrates. Reading this book made me realise that I have at least on common ground with the Greek philosopher.
As its title suggests, this short book by John Zubrzycki published in 2022 tells the history of this ancestral country that is India, from the Harappan civilisation in 3000 BCE to the pandemic of 2020. I learnt of a lot of stuff on the history of this land. What else can I ask for ? Really well written, easy to understand even in English. I recommend for anyone interested in the « Golden Sparrow ». 5/5.

[Shantanu Patnaik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short refresher on India's History as the world's oldest continuous civilization. Author refrains from bringing in his biases and opinions into the fold until the last chapter. This makes it precisely interesting as he moves chronologically from Harappan Civilization till COVID losses and Modi's bravado.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book did a great job providing a summarization of the history of the oldest civilization in the world. However, at times the author takes the liberty in presuming the reader has a certain level of understanding that may not be true.

[Fin · Rating 3 out of 5]

An impressive condescension of 5000 years worth of Indian history; you will definitely learn a lot.

3.5 stars.

[Kathryn Bain · Rating 4 out of 5]

A comprehensive history - hard to read first half as so many names and places but second half more engaging as more relevant to modern India.

[Vicki DeLuzio · Rating 4 out of 5]

it is a quick read and has lots of names and places . good for a quick overview and has some funny bits in there too. going to use as an overview book for my kids.

[Lourens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cannot judge the accuracy, but I liked the foreshadowing of historic events for later justification. If anything, a bit too heavy on conflicts that changed leadership, and the particularities of certain rulers. Could have done with more descriptions about the typical life in these ancient societies instead. But it’s a short history, there is always more to tell. At least important cultural and scientific hallmarks were highlighted!

[Dan magrath · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastically accesible, covers an immense amount of content while always maintaining the readers attention and wonderfully captures the complexities of a fascinating nation

A truly wonderful introduction into Indian history

[Harriet Keown]

Not my usual read - good to feel like an intellectual 🤓 it was pretty dense and quite an overwhelming amount of information - packing over 5,000 years of history into 260 pages is no mean feat! A lot of it was quite political and focused on the changes in power/religious conflict etc, so I did wish there was some more social and cultural commentary. But still v interesting to learn more (however rapidly) about the East India Company, the caste system and some important people in India's history.

Some memorable facts:
- Indian mathematicians were responsible for the notation of numerals from one to nine and the concept of zero
- In 1931, life expectancy in India was 27 🤯 (now it is just under 70)
- By the middle of the next decade, India is expected to have more English speakers than the United States

The more you know!

[Olivia Redfearn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great overview of India's history (which I did not know much about). There was a lot - understandably- to digest with such a rich and diverse history so I had to re-read certain passages of info. I feel it has given me further insight into India and prep for my visit in a couple of days ✌🏼

[Lesleyts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book which does what it says in the title! It is a short book which covers a vast period of time and so many different groups.

[Zack]

A concise introduction to the history of India, though at times it feels it could have done with better editing.

[Krisdeep Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing book covering thousands of years of civilization within my motherland under 300 pages

[Michael Bishop · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great introduction to India's complex and often chaotic history. An educational journey worth undertaking by the reader. India is much more than perhaps we think it is.

[Shubham Sharma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author lacked practicality and has based this piece by summarising history books on India…Academic in nature and must be avoided if this is your first history book… I’d recommend History of India’s geography by Sanjib Sanyal instead… and then this can be read to fill gaps left by former… overall average read.. author could have avoided unveiling his left wing inclination and interpreting India as an average one…

[Parth Patil · Rating 4 out of 5]

nice pace of storytelling and tone and enjoyed reading it, maybe some touches of political bias without exploration, can recall almost nothing though, so much content

[Maynard Handley · Rating 1 out of 5]

"A Retelling for Our Times"
Everything you need to know is in that subtitle. Yes, indeed, it's exactly what you expect, yet another white man's version of India, only this time the guilty white man's version. It's about as pathetic as you'd expect. For example after multiple multiple stories of various Indians who conquered various parts of the subcontinent and thereby grew rich, we get the story of Clive – and out comes the scolding. Apparently it's just fine for all manner of people, from inside and outside India to have (and act on) grand dreams of conquest and wealth – just as long as they aren't European.

If you want any sort of insight into India, or world culture, move along. This volume is every bit the boring, hectoring, self-oblivious twaddle we expect from most authors in the 2020s.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading this book. I liked the non-flowery writing style with its clarity and conversational tone. Considering the time span and magnitude of the subject matter, there is an astonishing depth of information in what is actually a relatively concise book. The maps and visuals helped with this. John Zubrzycki opted to explain why things happened as opposed to just offering a collection of dates, places, and names. Obviously Zubrzycki couldn’t go into a lot of details, but I feel like he covered all the major ones. The book is fast-paced and impossible to put down, yet it doesn’t feel rushed. This is a great book for anyone interested in the history of India. Thank you to Netgalley and The Experiment for the advance reader copy.

[Hamid · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent summary of "Indian" history over a grand period. Very little depth, which is of course expected for a book of this kind. Settles essentially on the boundaries of modern India. Rounds up with a very rapid summary of modern Indian politics.

I would have appreciated a comprehensive section here on further reading of various aspects of Indian history. Want to use this as a stepping stone for further reading in 2024 but will instead have to mine Reddit. Only author whose work springs out of the text through repeated citation is William Dalrymple (and whose works I'm familiar with).

Still, a good starting point.