STORY OF INDIA, THE - Softcover

Michael Wood

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1846074606 ISBN 13: 9781846074608

Publisher: BBC Books, 2008

Synopsis

This sumptuously illustrated book with its magical mix of history and travelogue will provide an unforgettable portrait of India.In this lavishly illustrated companion to his BBC TV series, Michael Wood weaves a spellbinding narrative out of the 10,000-year history of India. Home today to more than a fifth of the world€™s population, the subcontinent gave birth to the oldest and most influential civilization on Earth, to four world religions, and to the world€™s largest democracy. Now, as India bids to become a global giant, Michael sets out to trace the roots of India€™s present in the incredible riches of her past.From the Khyber Pass and the Himalayas to the tropical jungles of India€™s Deep South, this original and striking survey of Indian history provides vivid portraits of India€™s regions and cultures, and new insights into some of history€™s greatest figures: the Buddha and Ashoka, Samudragupta and Akbar the Great, Nehru and Gandhi. It e

About this title

About the Author:

Michael Wood is a highly respected author and TV presenter with over eighty documentary films to his name, most recently the acclaimed In Search of Myths and Heroes.
From the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly:

In a style that blends encyclopedic knowledge with a travel narrative, Wood (In Search of the Trojan War) presents the history of a country which, he claims, is itself "a tale of incredible drama, of great inventions and phenomenal creativity, and of the biggest ideas." Combining ancient and recent history with archaeology, anthropology, religion and linguistic studies, Wood provides a thorough view of India's journey to the present. Woods has a long personal history with the country and he uses it to great effect, combining first person accounts (such as hunting down an original manuscript of the ancient Rig-Veda text in a Calcutta library and stopping for tea at the "bazaar of storytellers") with discursive accounts of Tamil literature, the analysis of Hindu legends and subtle historical interpretation. As in the past, India's greatest strength, Wood claims, will be to "adapt and change, to use the gifts of history and to accept its wounds, but somehow, magically, to always be India." Filled with photographs and artwork, this is an excellent primer for anyone wishing to know about the evolution of this growing world power.
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About this edition

• Publisher: BBC Books
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1846074606
• ISBN 13: 9781846074608
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320