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Review
French combines his lifelong passion, India, with his scholarly interest ... a fascinating anaylsis, revealing a deeper truth. (Salil Tripathi The Independent )
It is a funny, witty book; also dense, gripping, thrilling. What blazes through from each page is French's absolute and uncondescending engagement with India (Neel Mukherjee The Times )
Wide-ranging, clear-sighted, warm-hearted and immensely readable (Nirpal Dhaliwal Evening Standard )
French is a fine reporter, with an appealing fascination for all things Indian ... an accomplished portrait of momentous times in a remarkable country (Economist )
Admirable ... There are many Indias, and Patrick French sets out, with enthusiasm and empathy, to encounter as many as he can find (David Gilmour Spectator )
Mr. French compresses 63 years of post-independence history into 450-odd pages fizzing with wit, insight and infectious curiosity ... a riveting read, and one suspects that Mr. French could not pen a boring passage if he tried. (Sadanand Dhume Wall Street Journal )
It is a funny, witty book; also dense, gripping, thrilling. What blazes through from each page is French's absolute and uncondescending engagement with India (Neel Mukherjee The Times )
Wide-ranging, clear-sighted, warm-hearted and immensely readable (Nirpal Dhaliwal Evening Standard )
French is a fine reporter, with an appealing fascination for all things Indian ... an accomplished portrait of momentous times in a remarkable country (Economist )
Admirable ... There are many Indias, and Patrick French sets out, with enthusiasm and empathy, to encounter as many as he can find (David Gilmour Spectator )
Mr. French compresses 63 years of post-independence history into 450-odd pages fizzing with wit, insight and infectious curiosity ... a riveting read, and one suspects that Mr. French could not pen a boring passage if he tried. (Sadanand Dhume Wall Street Journal )
Product Description
One of this century's greatest surprises has been the economic and social revolution in India. A country long characterized by such adjectives as 'timeless', 'spiritual' and 'backward' is now viewed through a new set of clichés: 'hi-tech', 'materialistic', 'go-getting'. But what is the real nature of this rapid change, and what are its roots?
Patrick French has spent much of his life engaged with India, and his landmark new book is filled with the qualities that have won his writing exceptional praise: his love of narrative, sympathy for the individual's experience, scepticism about official claims, and relish for the mayhem of political life. His account of Indian independence, Liberty or Death, is an acclaimed bestseller. Now he gives us an encompassing social, political and economic history of India from partition to the present day.
Examining the cultural foundations that made India's accelerated transformation from socialist economy to capitalist powerhouse possible, French creates a vivid, surprising picture of what it is like to live at a time when millions have pulled themselves free of poverty - with fortunes made almost overnight - but where violence, corruption and caste prejudice have equally been given new outlets. He delves into Indian society and politics, including the personal story of one of the most powerful women in the world, Sonia Gandhi. And he travels the country's regions to show how Nehru's vision of a democratic, secular India has continued to attempt - in the face of conflict and setbacks - to hold this vast, implacably diverse nation together.
French has spoken to everyone from the nation's political leadership to Maoist revolutionaries and mafia dons, from chained quarry workers to self-made billionaire entrepreneurs and technological innovators. The result is a richly detailed, wide-ranging and hugely rewarding portrait of India.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
"How many among these millions would be...helping to build a new India and a new world?"
23 Jan 2011
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
Ask me for some off-the-top-of-your-head associations with the word 'India', and I'd probably stammer something about Slumdog Millionaire, wacky gods, poverty, exotic food and Mahatma Gandhi. Maybe pad it out by adding a few things gleaned from reading Naipaul, Narayan, or Rushdie; think about mentioning Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom and then - quickly - come to my senses. Although I knew a little about the author's previous work - including the excellent The World Is What It Is: The Authorized Biography of V.S. Naipaul - I knew next to nothing about his subject.
In a way, the very sub-title is a tease ('an intimate biography of 1.2. billion people'), operating out of the zone between ignorance and knowledge. Telling the truth about any nation depends - literally - on where you stand; so how do you tell the story of a nation as massively diverse and contradictory as India? French's answer - and a successful one - is to admit the messiness. Many worlds exist in parallel, each shedding light on the other.
French studies the 'small' up close, and cuts away to the bigger picture: using the soliloquy to explain the play. The daily life of the dabbah-wallas of Mumbai metamorphoses seamlessly into a study of Indian customs and codes regarding business, and India's entrepreneurial spirit.
'Although India is home to a higher number of illiterate people than any other country in the world, which is in part the consequence of having more than a billion citizens, many of those who travel overseas are well-educated and motivated. It is estimated that Indians are responsible for one in six Silicon Valley start-ups, and that 30,000 graduates of the Indian Institutes of Technology live and work in the US. [...] Vinod Khosla co-founded Sun Microsystems, Sabeer Bhatia started Hotmail and Ajay Bhatt [the architect of the the USB] became a rock star.'
Making politics and economics readable and thickly larded with human conflict - particularly in the chapter concerning the making of the Indian Constitution - is one of the book's major achievements.
India's poverty, religious conflict and caste-cruelty are never denied. (Casteism, French suggests, is worse than most other prejudices. Ahe average anti-semite will tell you why 'they' do so well in business, just as a white supremacist lets it slip that he envies apparent black physical prowess; but prejudice against an 'untouchable' is built on the idea that to even share a room with one is to be physically contaminated, or even turned into an insect.)
Nor, however, are the above presented as the whole story, as if further enquiry is somehow unnecessary. Before, India was regarded as 'exotic, eternal, to be admired and patronised, but incapable of helping itself. It needed the pump-priming charity of outsiders, and was certainly not a competitor, not a country that might take off and revitalise itself.' Yet 'at the very time Westerners were travelling to India in search of suffering and spirituality, and writing replica accounts of it, a more interesting shift was taking place.'
That shift has resulted in a country that nearly went bankrupt in 1991, and yet is predicted to overtake the Japanese economy by 2032. That prediction may frighten some, especially those of a far-right affliction. I find it fascinating; and will be looking up French's previous book on India, Liberty or Death: India's Journey to Independence and Division without delay.
In a way, the very sub-title is a tease ('an intimate biography of 1.2. billion people'), operating out of the zone between ignorance and knowledge. Telling the truth about any nation depends - literally - on where you stand; so how do you tell the story of a nation as massively diverse and contradictory as India? French's answer - and a successful one - is to admit the messiness. Many worlds exist in parallel, each shedding light on the other.
French studies the 'small' up close, and cuts away to the bigger picture: using the soliloquy to explain the play. The daily life of the dabbah-wallas of Mumbai metamorphoses seamlessly into a study of Indian customs and codes regarding business, and India's entrepreneurial spirit.
'Although India is home to a higher number of illiterate people than any other country in the world, which is in part the consequence of having more than a billion citizens, many of those who travel overseas are well-educated and motivated. It is estimated that Indians are responsible for one in six Silicon Valley start-ups, and that 30,000 graduates of the Indian Institutes of Technology live and work in the US. [...] Vinod Khosla co-founded Sun Microsystems, Sabeer Bhatia started Hotmail and Ajay Bhatt [the architect of the the USB] became a rock star.'
Making politics and economics readable and thickly larded with human conflict - particularly in the chapter concerning the making of the Indian Constitution - is one of the book's major achievements.
India's poverty, religious conflict and caste-cruelty are never denied. (Casteism, French suggests, is worse than most other prejudices. Ahe average anti-semite will tell you why 'they' do so well in business, just as a white supremacist lets it slip that he envies apparent black physical prowess; but prejudice against an 'untouchable' is built on the idea that to even share a room with one is to be physically contaminated, or even turned into an insect.)
Nor, however, are the above presented as the whole story, as if further enquiry is somehow unnecessary. Before, India was regarded as 'exotic, eternal, to be admired and patronised, but incapable of helping itself. It needed the pump-priming charity of outsiders, and was certainly not a competitor, not a country that might take off and revitalise itself.' Yet 'at the very time Westerners were travelling to India in search of suffering and spirituality, and writing replica accounts of it, a more interesting shift was taking place.'
That shift has resulted in a country that nearly went bankrupt in 1991, and yet is predicted to overtake the Japanese economy by 2032. That prediction may frighten some, especially those of a far-right affliction. I find it fascinating; and will be looking up French's previous book on India, Liberty or Death: India's Journey to Independence and Division without delay.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
After the first section (which deals with history) I found this very readable. It's a great sprawl of a book. Whilst it's clearly impossible to capture India in a few hundred pages, this is not a bad go at it.
The author has travelled widely and met all sorts of people on his journeys. He paints a vivid picture of the people and places he's encountered, and brings these to life wonderfully.
The book also provides a potted history of India, and an compelling and convincing outline of the politics and economics of the country. These parts are brought to life through meetings and conversations with Indian politicians and businessmen, and have a real ring of truth about them.
As someone without much previous knowledge about the country, I felt I learnt a good deal through this. It's well written, and makes you feel you learning something without having to struggle to do so. A well crafted and readable book: recommended.
The author has travelled widely and met all sorts of people on his journeys. He paints a vivid picture of the people and places he's encountered, and brings these to life wonderfully.
The book also provides a potted history of India, and an compelling and convincing outline of the politics and economics of the country. These parts are brought to life through meetings and conversations with Indian politicians and businessmen, and have a real ring of truth about them.
As someone without much previous knowledge about the country, I felt I learnt a good deal through this. It's well written, and makes you feel you learning something without having to struggle to do so. A well crafted and readable book: recommended.
25 of 28 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
As someone who grew up in India, I tend to read a number of books and articles and watch most documentaries that feature India. Some of them are pure opinion and often patronising. However, Patrick French has done his research thoroughly and brings up a lot about India, how it works, the underlying issues, how things like government and money are intertwined and so on.
If you are looking for a real in depth understanding of how India ticks and doesn't tick then this is a great place to start. If you are looking for a general overview of the country and culture then this might be a little bit too deep as a first touch.
For those who want to delve more into Indian culture this is highly recommended.
If you are looking for a real in depth understanding of how India ticks and doesn't tick then this is a great place to start. If you are looking for a general overview of the country and culture then this might be a little bit too deep as a first touch.
For those who want to delve more into Indian culture this is highly recommended.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Riveting read...
What can i say, this book covers it all and it covers it well. It delves into the cultural history of India and the background of how it all started out. Read more
Published 2 months ago by R. Patel
a great book about a land of great contrasts
This is a splendid book which covers the great sweep of Indian life and culture, illuminated with numerous individual anecdotes featuring people from all levels of Indian society. Read more
Published 3 months ago by markr
Great book - well written
I was quite skeptical when someone bought this for me and cynically thought it would be a rubbish westerners view on what he thinks about India.... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Bobby Lall
Brilliant
I'm not one for gushing, but India is such a huge topic that this book - which covers the minutiae of Indian colonial history and the modern day problems faced by millions of... Read more
Published 9 months ago by F. R. Lewis
Worth putting the effort in
The culture and history of India fascinates me, however I have always found books on the subject focussed on one or the other ! Read more
Published 9 months ago by Scott A. Mckenzie
Enjoyable
This is an enjoyable romp through modern Indian culture.
Mostly it Covers the authors own personal experiences but there are interviews and comments from assorted Indian... Read more
Mostly it Covers the authors own personal experiences but there are interviews and comments from assorted Indian... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Bingibongi
For the busy executive
Hey you busy executives!! Do you know nothing about India??? Would you like to learn all about India in only 400 pages??? Read more
Published 9 months ago by Miran Ali
Entertaining and informative
For those interested in India, this is a must read. I spent the first 30 years of my life in India. So I know a bit about India. Read more
Published 11 months ago by mohan
The Devil is the Detail
A very well researched tome. Presented as if for a thesis. Far too minutely detailed to be 'riveting reading' in fact the detail tends to wear the reader down. Read more
Published 12 months ago by A. Aldred
Epic, intimate, well written and thoroughly enjoyable
Patrick French has achieved a rare thing; a book that is epic and intimate, historic and contemporary. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Adam Bartleby
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