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A History of India

Written by: Michael H. Fisher, The Great Courses
Narrated by: Michael H. Fisher
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Publisher's Summary

Over 5,000 years, India has been home to a rich tapestry of peoples and cultures. Two of the world's great religions - Hinduism and Buddhism - have their origins in South Asia, and the lands east of the Indus River have long been a central hub for trade, migration, and cultural exchange. Today the subcontinent contains 20 percent of the world's population and is a thriving center for global business, making this region one of most significant economic powerhouses in the world.

Go inside this thrilling story with A History of India, a breathtaking survey of South Asia from its earliest societies along the Indus and Ganges rivers through the modern challenges of the 21st century. These 36 sweeping lectures enable you to understand the epic scope of the subcontinent's history. Perhaps the most important facet of this history is how diverse the region truly is. Roughly the size of continental Europe, India - along with its neighbors, Pakistan and Bangladesh - contains a myriad of ethnic groups, socioeconomic classes, religions, and cultural mores.

In this wide-ranging investigation, you'll:

  • Meet the many religious communities that have coexisted in India, including Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, Muslims, Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians
  • Delve into the legacies of the Mauryan Empire, the Mughal Empire, and British colonialism - three of the few governments that ever unified the subcontinent
  • Witness the fight for independence from European powers and the partition of the region into the countries of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh in the 20th century
  • Consider the challenges and opportunities faced by this area today, from expanding urbanization to the vast need for energy sources to the ongoing heated debates about national identity

Professor Fisher, who has traveled and taught in South Asia for decades, reveals this complex narrative with skill and compelling insights.

©2016 The Great Courses (P)2016 The Teaching Company, LLC

What listeners say about A History of India

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Entralling!

Once you start, you are hooked. Very rational, pragmatic and fascinating walk down our history. Full marks to the narrator for his brilliant voice and diction.. Thanks

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Not Comprehensive Enough

This is most suited for non Indians, who need a decent summary of Indian history. If you are a native, you'd feel a lot of the stuff told here, you were already aware of.

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5 people found this helpful

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well defined themes and description of history

it is very detailed course . im rather impressed by the orator and author that he has built the narration or i should say carefully woven around all the facets prevalent in indian society like caste system, significance of indus valley today and tectonic plate theory that resulted in abandoned cities . it is not a blatant narration of timelines but rather a healthy discussion on how what and when. it has helped me immensely in understanding my own country geographically, anthropologically and historically. listening to it was a fantastic use of my time.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A good, fairly unbiased summary of India's history

A good, fairly unbiased summary of India's history.

India's history spans many millennia, spanned across multiple theatres (South/North/West), with active engagements with civilizations from Mesopotamia to China to Greece. it is an overwhelming undertaking to summarise it in one relatively concise form. But the author does manage to do that, and does that very well! And that while keeping it informative as well as very engaging.

As an Indian listener, I was happy to see the author being free of the Western bias that is rampant in much of Western academia. it does not mean that they endorse the Eastern view (e.g. a right-leaning nationalist view of history) - they just call out the different interpretations of history where needed and back it with data.

recent history of the subcontinent (last 70 yrs) has also been covered very well.

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A great listen

Takes you through time and details out the various events that took place in India. The author is an expert in the area(duh!) and I enjoyed his other publication as well - history of British India.

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Great book but...

This is a must read for all Indians. the facts have been presented in a beautiful way.

however when the author tries to Express his opinion, he totally gets it wrong. so we need to stick to facts and ignore his opinion.
the narrator is not good. he is bit unclear, gets stuck and goes for repetition very often.

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1 person found this helpful

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A good précis of South Asian history

A collector's item for every one interested in knowing the rich historical and cultural past of the Indian subcontinent. Comfortable to listen easy to understand.

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    3 out of 5 stars

Indian History 101

While the lectures are extensive and adequately detailed, quite a few events are reported without citing sources of original information. This may be an affliction specific to the audio format, though.

The author does try to describe both the etic and emic contexts of events, but the overall lectures seem more as an outsider view of Indian history. This is probably due to lack of social context for an outside observer. For the Indian reader/listener, the scale of information is limited.

For a scholar of Indian history, it could have been more impactful if the narrator could pronounce local words correctly.

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Non-partisan View of Indian History

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Covers all the important periods of Indian history from an outside-in view but objectively. I just wish he allocated some more time to South Indian history with some focus on Vijayanagara empire.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

good read

worth listening .
crisp and informative and interesting... through out the long long Indian history

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