A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India, From the Stone Age to the 12th Century by Upendra Singh, 2nd Edition - Pearson

by Upinder Singh

Established as a classic in its first edition, the second edition of Upinder Singh’s A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India, incorporates the latest discoveries, research, and insights in the field. Drawing on a vast array of textual, archaeological, and visual sources, it weaves together discussions of politics, economy, society, religion, philosophy, art, and ideas into a seamless narrative. The book reveals the complex and dynamic history of the regions of the subcontinent across millennia by focusing on macro-level changes as well the everyday lives of ordinary people. Widely acclaimed as an excellent introduction to the subject for general readers as well as the most comprehensive and authoritative textbook for undergraduate and postgraduate students, this classic maintains its reputation of offering a lucid, detailed, and balanced exposition, equipping readers with skills to critically assess historical evidence, arguments, and debates. The book is a reader’s delight, with excerpts from original sources and a wealth of images and illustrations of India's diverse and rich historical heritage, making an exploration of the past a truly exciting journey.

2162 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 5, 2024

About the author

Upinder Singh is an Indian historian and the former head of the History Department at the University of Delhi. She is the dean of faculty and professor of history at Ashoka University. She is also the recipient of the inaugural Infosys Prize in the category of Social Sciences.

Reviews

[Student · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you want to know something about everything that happened in the Indian subcontinent from around 3500 BCE to 1200 CE, this is the book for you. The way I see it, Dr Upinder Singh (she is the daughter of the former prime minister of India, Dr Manmohan Singh) has written an exhaustive introduction to the aforementioned 4700 or so years of the history of this region . If you want to go deeper into, let's say, each of the 47 centuries, you'll need to read many more books. In summation, this is a book that delivers a wide-angle view of Indian history, but not a deep dive. Spoiler alert: It's a 2162-page door-stopper. Ha-ha. Oh, and one more thing: the writing is textbookish.