The Golden Road
How Ancient India Transformed the World
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The Golden Road
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Narrated by:
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William Dalrymple
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Written by:
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William Dalrymple
About this listen
Bloomsbury presents The Golden Road written and read by William Dalrymple.
THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
A Waterstones and TIMES HISTORY BOOK OF THE YEAR
A SPECTATOR and History Today BOOK OF THE YEAR
A revolutionary new history of the diffusion of Indian ideas, from the award-winning, bestselling author and co-host of the chart-topping Empire podcast
‘Richly woven, highly readable ... Written with passion and verve’ Spectator
‘Dazzling ... Not just a historical study but also a love letter’ Guardian
‘An outstanding new account ... The most compelling retelling we have had for generations’ Financial Times
India is the forgotten heart of the ancient world.
In the millennium and a half from c. 250 BC to 1200 AD, Indian art, religion, technology, astronomy, music, dance, literature, mathematics and mythology blazed a trail across the world – a Golden Road that stretched from the Red Sea to the Pacific.
Here, William Dalrymple draws from a lifetime of scholarship to highlight India’s oft-forgotten position as the heart of ancient Eurasia. For the first time, he gives a name to this spread of Indian ideas that transformed the culture and technology of not only its ancient world, but of the world as we know it today.
What listeners say about The Golden Road
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Y Srinivas
- 01-01-25
Golden Road is a brilliant work of scholarship.
The book is well researched and yet very readable. It connects so many varied strands from differnt regions and eras. The central idea is that when it comes to knowledge and culture, the guiding principle is cooperation and coexistence. Thank you William Dalrymple. Thank you Audible. 🤝
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Ruchira Moitra
- 15-02-25
Mesmerizing
Thanks to Nr. Dalrymple for this piece of history of ancient india and it's influence on the then known world.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Surya Kiran Ganti
- 01-11-24
fantastic book. must read for anyone originating from India
ancient India contributed to the world in heaps band bounds and the book talks about it.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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- Ranganath Seetharamu
- 14-11-24
Educational. Must listen for every Indian
There is so much I learnt from this book that fills me with pride as an Indian. I am taking away one star from performance only because of the authors inability to pronounce the basic Indian words despite his passion and attention to detail. If you can pronounce English and French then you can pronounce Sanskrit. You can't say 'ramayaana'. That said I thank the author for this book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Seema srivastava
- 11-06-25
An amazing collation of historical facts that will make every Indian proud
William Dalrymple is one of the most respected and accomplished historians who is a magician when it comes to research the facts and bring in his perspectives to the fore. Also his writing style is so interesting that the readers always get an immersive experience while reading his books. The Golden Road is one such journey where we can see the India as a country which is epicentre of global trades and center of knowledge like no other country in the world. The Golden Road takes us to a journey of awe, mesmerising aspects of innovation and later its impact on the entire world, pain and aches of loss of vast knowledge India lost at places like Nalanda, sense of amazement to understand how the Buddhism spread in South East Asia, the cultural influence of Persian language and how not very far away how Muslim rulers imbibed the Hinduism and ruled a cohesive society. I think this book is a masterpiece and never to missed if anyone wants to understand what was our journey and also to feel confident that maybe we can achieve the same status of being a evolved society if we learn from the past. Thank you William Dalrymple, you are a GENIUS! (Piyush Srivastava)
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 01-11-24
Fascinating
William is the history teacher you wished you had. engaging narration by the author who has also done extensive research from sources across geographies and time.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Zahid Shaikh
- 30-11-24
Depth of research
A book that brings to light history that is not known widely . it needs to be made a compulsory reading in all India Schools
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- Mommyingtales
- 19-01-25
Indic Sphere
Post my recent vacation at Cambodia, I was quite intrigued with the spread of Hinduism and Buddhism in South East Asia. I have always wondered about the role of India in the world's ancient and mediaeval history and this was a perfect book to satisfy my curiosity about "Indic Sphere".
A must read for someone who loves history especially in the context of Asia!
A good Audible experience.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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- Pavithra
- 26-12-24
Connecting the dots across centuries
Extensive research spanning centuries & continents; the concept of knowledge & cultures radiating from the sub-continent to the eastern & western hemispheres is compelling. Dalrymple is like a tenacious bloodhound following a trail & sniffing out hither to unknown links.
What jars, especially for a book centered on India, is the author's mispronunciation of rudimentary words "Rum-uh-yarn-uh" and "Ma-huh-burrata"!?
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Greeshma Menon
- 26-01-25
amazing and well narrated.
definitely recommend everyone to read this book. it's a well put together book that is additionally narrated by the author himself quite well. recommended to history lovers
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