A New History of India

by Stanley Wolpert

After more than twenty-five years in print, A New History of India continues to be the most readable and popular one-volume history of India available. Now in its eighth edition, this acclaimed text features updated scholarship and bibliographic material throughout and integrates new research on such incisive topics as the Indian diaspora, the economy, and the nuclear issue.

In lively, accessible language, Stanley Wolpert condenses more than 4,000 years of India's history into a graceful and engaging narrative. He discusses modern India's rapidly growing population, industry, and economy, and also considers the prospects for India's future. From a carefully balanced perspective, Wolpert presents a fair and truthful record of India's history--he offers both a triumphant portrayal of the brightest achievements of Indian civilization as well as a sobering examination of its persistent social inequities and economic and political corruption.

Enhanced with striking new images and a full-color map of India and the surrounding area, A New History of India, Eighth Edition, remains the authoritative text on the compelling--and often controversial--history of this fascinating country.

Genres: History, India, Nonfiction, Asia, World History, Reference

560 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

Stanley A. Wolpert is an American academic, Indologist, and author considered one of the world's foremost authorities on the political and intellectual history of modern India and Pakistan and has written fiction and nonfiction books on the topics. He taught at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) from 1959-2002.

Reviews

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Come, let us sit upon the ground and tell sad stories of the death of prime ministers. The sixth edition of A New History of India gives a chiefly political, mostly modern history of one of the world's most ancient civilizations, and consists mostly of fighting and politics (which is like fighting, and often leads to it). I found Jawaharlal Nehru's running commentary on India in Glimpses of World History far more useful for appreciating pre-modern India, but that work has the limitation of having been completed in the late 1930s.

[Paul D. Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

An accessible, readable general overview of Indian history from the dawn of civilization to the current day. The books aims high and almost delivers. It is a little uneven, giving a bit too much detail of the wheeling and deeling of party politics in the modern era. The writing veers back and forth between poetic and mundane. But it was comprehensive and I certainly learned much from reading it.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

An introductory history of India.

About 25% covers prehistory through ~1600. Much of the information here is about the development of different religions. Wolpert is not very clear whether the arrival of the Aryans was an invasion, conquest, or migration. He uses terms like 'Aryan invasion' and 'Aryan conquest' most of the time, but says at the beginning of one chapter that it was more of a gradual assimilation. So why call it a conquest or invasion?

Another 25% covers the European trading/colonial period. This seems to be as much about the British as it is about Indians. Roughly 20% covers the independence movement from the late 1800s through World War II. Much of the information in these two sections focuses on politics and diplomacy (or lack thereof).

The last 30% covers independent India and a little bit about Pakistan where it's necessary in order to explain the political maneuvering. Most of this deals with economics and politics. These chapters have obviously been reworked as new editions come out, to bring the book up to date. However, it's not clear how consistently the chapters have been updated. For example, when Wolpert says something hasn't happened 'yet', does that mean through 1977, sometime in the 1980s, sometime in the 1990s, or 2004? Also, this section seems rather partisan or opinionated for a history text (though not as opinionated as the preface).

[Chandler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a brillant overview of India--religion, society, politics, history, etc.

So well written, it is a joy to read and reread. Some parts are a bit "tongue in cheek" and added levity to the subject.

An excellent birds eye view of a great country....

[Waleed Cheema]

its a very good book

[JRennet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading the book, that is beautifully written and really engages you in the rich history of India (and also Pakistan and Bangladesh until very recent time). A great introduction to the complex yet fascinating country. You can feel the love of the author for its culture(and for some key players such as Akhbar and Nehru) as well as the sadness for the most recent times.
The book was written before the 2004 election, but the author could see what was going to happen in India already.

[Paul Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very detailed and dry at times, but a worthwhile read for my first trip to India.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stanley Wolpert delivers one of the most concise yet thorough accounts of Indian history to date. He does an excellent job of looking at the development of the subcontinent from the days of BC to the modern Tamil and Pakistani conflicts afflicting the nation today. I read this book to get a background on India as a whole and was not disappointed in its quality. It goes into enough detail to understand the story of how India developed as a country with excellent references on where to get more information. Whether you are looking for a basic textbook of India or an introduction to a study for further use this is a great place to start. From a historical standpoint it is very difficult to write a great survey book but this delivers on every possible expectation for a survey. For those who have knowledge on this subject they may find this book maddeningly frustrating or subject to bias and revisionism however from a novice standpoint I do not see much evidence of that. The citations clearly point to sources where ideas come from and they can be verified through independent reading. Highly recommend for those wanting to learn more about India and how it developed as a nation.

[Namrirru · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting as far as histories go, but its layout and organization are not so great. With the amount of information that's presented, the chapters should have been divided into different sections (economics, politics, religion etc.) like a textbook as opposed to the winding prose of a popular history book. And the text can be a bit lumpy. He goes into great detail on somethings but glides over others. So the pace is very stop-and-go. I haven't finished it yet, but I will eventually. It's just not one of those books you can read cover to cover.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you want a thorough and concise history of India, read this book. I had to read this for college and enjoyed it considerably. The book reviews approximately 4,000 years of India's history through to--almost--the current day.

[Dora · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dry but informative

[Dee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice overview for the non-specialist.

[Michael Hinsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crammed, but especially good at the beginning and at the end. great intro to such a rich subject. Wonderful historical geography.

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

I haven't read a ton on Indian history, but I am betting there are better books than this one - which wasn't a great read.