The Story of India

The Story of India

by Michael Wood (Author)

Synopsis

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 explores the ways in which Indian ideas and inventions have shaped the history of the world, and shows how some of ancient India's conclusions about the nature of civilization have lost none of their relevance for our own times. Dazzling colour photographs capture an extraordinary spectrum of landscapes, architectural splendours, customs, rituals and festivals. This sumptuously illustrated book from one of Britain's best-loved historians and broadcasters is a magical mixture of history and travelogue, and an unforgettable portrait of India, past, present - and future.

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More Information

Format: Hardcover
Pages: 256
Edition: First Edition
Publisher: BBC Books
Published: 16 Aug 2007

ISBN 10: 0563539151
ISBN 13: 9780563539155
Book Overview: A sumptuously illustrated portrait of the Indian subcontinent by one of Britain's finest historians

Media Reviews
Michael Wood is the maker of some of the best television documentaries ever made on history and archaeology * Times Literary Supplement *
Wood is a perceptive, entertaining and enthusiastic companion * Sunday Times *
Michael Wood is a superb teacher and story teller ... confirmation of the fact that history, well told, can be alive and compelling * Los Angeles Times *
A marvellously vivid portrait of India's 10,000-year-old cultural and religious history...Gorgeously illustrated and intelligently written, this is both an erudite and entertaining history -- Clover Stroud * Sunday Telegraph *
This is a beautifully illustrated cultural history, a traveller's tale and a compelling and readable guide to the rise and rise of a civilisation * The Good Book Guide *
Author Bio
Michael Wood is a highly respected author and TV presenter. He was born in Manchester and was educated at Manchester Grammar School and Oriel College, Oxford, where he did post-graduate research in Anglo-Saxon history. A broadcaster and film-maker, Michael has over eighty documentary films to his name. BBC Books have published Michael's previous TV tie-in titles, including In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great, Conquistadors, In Search of Shakespeare and In Search of Myths and Heroes. Michael is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society.