India: Brief History of a Civilization

by Thomas R. Trautmann

India: Brief History of a Civilization , Second Edition, provides a brief overview of a very long period, allowing students to acquire a mental map of the entire history of Indian civilization in a short book. Most comprehensive histories devote a few chapters to the early history of India and an increasing number of pages to the more recent period, giving an impression that early history is mere background and that Indian civilization finds its fulfillment in the nation-state. Thomas R. Trautmann believes that the deep past lives on and is a valuable resource for understanding the present day and for creating a viable future. The result is a book that is short enough to read in a few sittings, but comprehensive in coverage--5,000 years of India in brief.

Genres: History, India, Nonfiction, School, College

256 pages, Paperback

First published July 29, 2010

Reviews

[Rick Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted to seek out to understand India, that's why I took this book.

The more I have read history; it seems to me that political history or politics plays a role on narrative of history upon people.

I am from Tamil Nadu. I can follow his work.

I would not charge him with Western bias.

If you do charge, please write up, how, why, contest his sources.

People might charge anyone who wants to write about India, written by a non-Indian.

The Most Interesting Chapters -- Family, Europeans, Nation State.

Well written book by Professor Trautmann. Clearly organized, easy to follow.


Deus Vult,
Gottfried

[Derek · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book for my class History of South Asia. Trautmann writes on the general history of South Asia from the Indus Valley civilization to the present day Republic of India as well as its neighboring nations. Apart from a few places that frustrated my professor, Trautmann’s book is a great place to learn the general history of South Asia.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book's title is nothing if not accurate. It is indeed a very brief history of India, and as the author himself says in its introduction, it is meant as an entry point for further reading in Indian history. For me, it served that purpose very well, giving a broad overview of Indian history from pre-Vedic and Vedic communities all the way through to the modern nation-states of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and others. At only ~200 pages, it's pretty difficult to cover any period of India's history in any meaningful depth, but the book does provide an appreciation for the sweep of that history, as well as the macro forces in play there, from the interplay of ethnic groups and religions to trade, kingdoms, and colonialism. It definitely did whet my appetite for further reading in the area.

One of my personal favorite things about the book is how it informed my understanding of modern India, the internal forces that continue to shape it, and how its really very new and recent history as a nation state has influenced its composition and struggles, having had a major role to play in partition of the region into several different nation states. That perspective refreshed my thinking about how modern republics struggle with the same issues India does: how majority/minority relations are resolved in a representative democracy. Or not.

A relatively brief read, it's worth the investment of time, but it will likely leave you wanting to know more, as it did for me.

[Tsai Wei-chieh · Rating 4 out of 5]

之前臺版出版時就入手了，很高興看到這書能引介到大陸來。如果要找一本目前篇幅最短、涵蓋時段最廣也最平均的新印度文明通史，建議直接讀本書。目前大部分的簡體中文讀物多半還是太關注中印文化交流或是近現代印度了。

[Avery · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5

[Parth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trautmann does a brilliant job of distilling over 3000-4000 years of South Asian history into almost 220 pages. Starting from the Indus River Valley and leading up to the British colonization of India, the book succinctly shares the history of India’s both numerous and heterogenous political structures, invasions, society, religion, economics, etc. Unfortunately, he makes short work of the last 200 years of history or so, but it is meant to be a concise read, so it is forgivable. If anything, it leaves the reader with wanting more (there is an addendum for further reading at the end of the book along with many footnotes and citations).

Overall, I feel like I’ve learned so much regarding the rich history and culture that I belong to, and I'm captivated to study it even more. I’d highly recommend this book to anyone who desires foundational knowledge on the history of South Asia.

[Alex Marcus · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are many ways of writing and understanding history and it has varied greatly in the contexts of time and space. Thomas Trautmann has made a sophisticated attempt at writing the history of South Asia in general and the civilization of the subcontinent in specific, through the lenses of the present. He views and often dwells on the present situations in the countries that cover the geography of South Asia today and measures them historically. Trautmann is stuck to the idea of seeing present and future on the basis of what has happened in the past. While the idea does not glue over and affects his understanding of the past it certainly looms over the entire text.
The book is no doubt a brief lucid history of the area and is spread over 5,000 years. It is a limited read and serves no more than an introduction. The topics of discussion are very cogently chosen. Trautmann seems to rush over a few topics and skip others entirely. It is a small text for a rather broad time period. More than focusing on the events of the past, the text focuses on the aspects of the civilization of the period. Though he argues that the region in the ancient times should be referred to as South Asia, he chooses "India" for the title (he offers the explanation). By no means, Trautmann kept himself limited to the boundaries of the present nation-state. Rather than viewing the region in isolation, the attempt has been to analyse the development and the structuring and restructuring of the civilization in the light of its interactions with other places on the globe.
What comes out is a complex set of histories, simplified and generalised for someone who is taking the first steps to understanding how we reached where we reached. This book is a good start but it is not enough.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

A concise and highly informative introduction to the Indian civilization. To cover the entire span of a civilization as long and rich as the Indian requires historical insights that go even beyond the unusual scholarship required, and to see this done in a relatively small book is simply extraordinary. I give 4.25/5 only because of my own limit - it may well be a 5/5 have I been less underreading and ignorant in this area.

[Nick Greenquist · Rating 3 out of 5]

Way too much religious history.

[bugsill]

So I’m not going to give it a rating bc it’s literally just information on India’s history. It’s very concise with I really appreciate.

[Olivia Wojtecki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading this book. It was assigned for my Indian Civilization class!!

[ringo · Rating 4 out of 5]

a great intro to Indian history! not very comprehensive but it doesn’t claim to be. overall a very good stepping stone

[John · Rating 1 out of 5]

Extremely boring and dry. Had to read for a class which doesnt help but holy crap could a book be more boring

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a real feat to cover the entire history of Indian civilization in 220 pages but the author manages this well and this book is an excellent primer. It's especially strong on the early history of the peoples and that's pretty much what I was looking for - coverage of the Mughal empire, the British and the Nation State is perfunctory and is no doubt covered in greater depth elsewhere.

The middle section of the book introduces the basics of society and religion and is explained carefully while a section of the influence Indian culture has had on other parts of the world and Asia is especially informative. It's a neutral view and so might be considered lacking in colour but it's hard to think of a better starting point before launching on more partisan accounts.

[Greta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Per me è stata una lettura per un corso di laurea, ma potrebbe benissimo essere letta senza un intento storico prettamente scolastico. Lo stile semplice rende la narrazione scorrevole e piacevole. Non è strutturato nel migliore dei modi, ma non è compito facile strutturare quattromila anni di storia. Ottima lettura.

[Yc Liao · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a window for looking in Indian Civilization which includes seven modern countries in South Asia. It helps to briefly understand India, Indians, cultures, languages, mentalities, groups, histories and so on. As a person from East Asia, surprisingly knew how much the whole of Asia is influenced by this super Civilization.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tells the tale of Indian civilization so concisely and is so engaging that I actually find myself wanting to sit down and read it over and over again like a novel.

[Bradley Farless · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very nice overview of early Indian history.

[Marsha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I