The Shortest History of India

The Shortest History of India, perfect for an overview of the distant and recent past of a fascinating country. I think that the most interesting part of the book is how John Zubrzycki’s narrative seems to at times challenge the reader to reconsider the legacy of some significant figures in Indian history. Some will see it as a dismissal but I feel it is in a way along the lines of giving the reader an opportunity to do their own research and form their own conclusions.

Zubrzycki's History of India was concise and in-depth overview of the wondrous history of India. Each chapter gave an overview of a certain time period, providing fascinating analyses of different rulers, interesting anecdotes, and never bogging down the reader in too many details. With some of the controversial or touchy subjects of Indian history, I felt he was respectful, giving context from other historians (it was very telling that he utilized a number of Indian historians rather than historians on India, underlying his acknowledgment of Indian historiography being written by a number of Europeans and not enough emphasis on writers from India).

This book is specific to general readers as well as historians who want a solid overview of Indian history. The Further Reading section gives a variety of other works on each topic, proving the author's vast knowledge of each chapter in his work. I learned quite a bit from this book and when it comes to brief and concise histories of an entire nation, this should be the template other historians should follow!

I really enjoyed this nonfiction.
It is a concise history of India including cultural and religious aspects. Maps, photos, and other illustrations are included that allow the reader to better place the events into context.
I know something about India, its culture and language; but chose this book in an effort to fill some of the blanks in my knowledge. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a short but thorough presentation of this topic.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved reading this book. I liked the non-flowery writing style with its clarity and conversational tone. Considering the time span and magnitude of the subject matter, there is an astonishing depth of information in what is actually a relatively concise book. The maps and visuals helped with this. John Zubrzycki opted to explain why things happened as opposed to just offering a collection of dates, places, and names. Obviously Zubrzycki couldn’t go into a lot of details, but I feel like he covered all the major ones. The book is fast-paced and impossible to put down, yet it doesn’t feel rushed. This is a great book for anyone interested in the history of India. Thank you to Netgalley and The Experiment for the advance reader copy.