Friday, April 12, 1996

India: An Introduction

by Kushwant Singh

Just what the title says, this book is an informative, lively account of India, from a few paragraphs on the Indus Valley civilization to the final chapter on Indira Gandhi.  I learned a lot from reading it, and perhaps not only what Singh intended.  Through his writing, I gleaned some information on how Indians feel about politics and so on: for example, he calls the leaking of information that a public official had not paid income tax in ten years a "personal attack."  A very different mind-set from the typical American's.  Singh is objective and fair in describing even hot topics like British rule and Pakistan, and so is probably trustworthy as a historian.  An interesting, rarely dull summary of history. 

four stars

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