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A Traveller's History of India
India, named after the river Indus, is heir to one of the world’s oldest and richest civilizations and the origin of many of the ideas, philosophies, and movements that have shaped the destiny of humankind.
For the traveler, India is both an inspiration and a challenge. The sheer wealth of Indian culture has fascinated generations of visitors. We see the sweeping panorama of Indian history, from the ancient origins of Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and the other great religions, through the tumultuous political history of India’s epic struggle against colonialism, to the ravages of Partition, Non-Alignment, and, finally, the emergence of India as a powerful modern state still grounded in the literature and culture of an ancient land. A Traveller’s History of India covers the whole scope of India’s past and present history and allows the reader to make sense of what they see in a way that no other guide book can.
For the traveler, India is both an inspiration and a challenge. The sheer wealth of Indian culture has fascinated generations of visitors. We see the sweeping panorama of Indian history, from the ancient origins of Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and the other great religions, through the tumultuous political history of India’s epic struggle against colonialism, to the ravages of Partition, Non-Alignment, and, finally, the emergence of India as a powerful modern state still grounded in the literature and culture of an ancient land. A Traveller’s History of India covers the whole scope of India’s past and present history and allows the reader to make sense of what they see in a way that no other guide book can.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 20, 2016
I added this book to Good Reads, and discovered it was my 1000th book, a figure that seemed to deserved some sort of notice.
As the title suggests, it's a traveller's history, a compact book intended to be read by foreigners travelling to India, and taken along for reference when there. It has a gazetteer of historic towns mentioned in the text, with indications of what can be found there, in addition to a brief outline of Indian history. I'm unlikely to visit India in my lifetime, so it won't serve its purpose for me, but I nevertheless found it an interesting account.
It did, however leave me with some questions. Though the author is himself a foreigner (Sri Lankan) and so sees India with an outsider's eye, he seems to adopt a north India point of view, and the south is only mentioned in connection with attempts by the north to conquer it.
He mentions the Aryan invasions (which many Hindu nationalists dispute) but says little about the people that the Aryans found when they invaded, other than that they tended to become members of the lower castes as Hinduism developed. It would have been interesting to know how this worked out in the south, where the Aryans barely penetrated.
There are also gaps in the story of the development of languages and religion. It appears that Sanskrit was brought by the Aryan invaders, but the Buddhist scriptures were mostly written in Pali, and won wonders where that came from, and somehow both got replaced by Hindi somewhere along the line.
Obviously one can't fit everything into a small book, but a few extra paragraphs on these topics would only have added about 5-1o pages to the book.
As the title suggests, it's a traveller's history, a compact book intended to be read by foreigners travelling to India, and taken along for reference when there. It has a gazetteer of historic towns mentioned in the text, with indications of what can be found there, in addition to a brief outline of Indian history. I'm unlikely to visit India in my lifetime, so it won't serve its purpose for me, but I nevertheless found it an interesting account.
It did, however leave me with some questions. Though the author is himself a foreigner (Sri Lankan) and so sees India with an outsider's eye, he seems to adopt a north India point of view, and the south is only mentioned in connection with attempts by the north to conquer it.
He mentions the Aryan invasions (which many Hindu nationalists dispute) but says little about the people that the Aryans found when they invaded, other than that they tended to become members of the lower castes as Hinduism developed. It would have been interesting to know how this worked out in the south, where the Aryans barely penetrated.
There are also gaps in the story of the development of languages and religion. It appears that Sanskrit was brought by the Aryan invaders, but the Buddhist scriptures were mostly written in Pali, and won wonders where that came from, and somehow both got replaced by Hindi somewhere along the line.
Obviously one can't fit everything into a small book, but a few extra paragraphs on these topics would only have added about 5-1o pages to the book.
July 26, 2026
I'm very hard to please when it comes to history books. If it's not a textbook, I tend to easily find numerous faults with the authors and the structure presented to me. A Traveller's History of India managed to hold my attention, have a good structure, and be written by someone who can speak concisely (which in my experience is incredibly rare.)
It's as Traveller's History, so the point isn't to replace a real book dedicated to one specific person or era, but rather to provide an overview of all the major events within the region. In this regard, I feel like the author did an amazing job, as it is difficult to fit thousands of years of history into just 200-ish pages.
Overall, the book was incredibly fun to read. The history presented was nothing short of fascinating and I loved every section that was included. My only gripes are that the maps (bonus points for providing maps btw) were a little difficult to read and that the southern region of India wasn't as heavily focused on as the Punjab-Rajastan-Central Deccan regions... but again it's a brief history and enough was provided about the south that it sparked an interest in me to learn more. I'd heavily recommend this for almost anyone wanting to learn more about the subcontinent.
It's as Traveller's History, so the point isn't to replace a real book dedicated to one specific person or era, but rather to provide an overview of all the major events within the region. In this regard, I feel like the author did an amazing job, as it is difficult to fit thousands of years of history into just 200-ish pages.
Overall, the book was incredibly fun to read. The history presented was nothing short of fascinating and I loved every section that was included. My only gripes are that the maps (bonus points for providing maps btw) were a little difficult to read and that the southern region of India wasn't as heavily focused on as the Punjab-Rajastan-Central Deccan regions... but again it's a brief history and enough was provided about the south that it sparked an interest in me to learn more. I'd heavily recommend this for almost anyone wanting to learn more about the subcontinent.
June 5, 2018
Mainio pikakurssi Intian historiasta siitä juuri mitään tietämättömälle.
May 17, 2023
Interesting
June 13, 2026
Much better than the China book in the same series.
October 2, 2008
A very very short history of India that nevertheless gives the reader a concise overview of the major points in India's history.
February 2, 2010
As mortified as I am to say this...I had to force myself to finish this book. For whatever reason, it wasn't nearly as engrossing as A Traveller's History of Egypt.
February 23, 2010
Overall, this book does a good job of presenting a ton of information in a few pages.
May 27, 2012
A concise and well written relatively unbiased version of Indias past - Chronological
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews