Although this book can read like a text book at times, I had a hard time putting it down. I vaguely remember many of the events starting with Indira Gandhi so it was great to put these in context for myself. The history prior to that (post British rule) was very interesting, well written and easy to follow.

I would've liked to have seen more pictures or photos, but alas everyone including myself is a critic.

I highly recommend it.

Ramachanrda Guha's history of "India after Gandhi" is a fascinating, fact-rich, comphrehensive history of late 20th Century India. Except for a an ocassional and understanable tint of nationlistic pride, Guha is impartial. He writes without political agenda. He just wants the reader to know the story and why the story is important. And unless you are already very well-versed in the recent history of India, you will learn much.

While I give this book four stars, but be fair-warned "India after Gandhi" is essentially a textbook, albeit a very good textbook. If reading a textbook -- no matter how good -- is not for you, buy someting else. But if you are an armchair historian, who like me, enjoys reading "something different", or you are interested in India for some personal reason, then this book a is must read.

If Nehru were to pick his choice of a historian to chronicle Indian history starting where he left off with his Discovery of India letters to Indira from 1942-46; he would probably have lived a decade longer in his excitement after finding Ramachandra Guha. Never before has a historian (or any human being for that matter) undergone the momentous task of uncovering and articulating the history of the world's largest democracy the way Guha has with India After Gandhi. Leave opinion, judgment, agenda, and agency aside; it is little doubt that Guha is the most aware Indian alive.

I had the good fortune of spending hours listening to Ram in person earlier this year, and was amazed at the wisdom-per-second spewing out from head-to-mouth impromptu. It is one thing to collect, select and organize information in chronological order; and it is another to hold that infinity in the back of your mind and retrieve, synthesize and present it on demand. It reflects passion, experience, genius, and wisdom. The series of talks were a follow-on to his controversial article in The Outlook about seven reasons why India will not be a Superpower, and why that is a meaningless goal to aspire towards.

I have received several new-found insights about India as a result of this book. It would be silly to attempt any summary or conclusions of the book and trivialize its very essence. Yet, the most important insight is that it is a miracle that India has overcome the challenge of surviving as one country. The initial conditions before, during and after independence were so unfavorable that historians, intellectuals, politicians and journalists worldwide did not give the "India experiment" a chance to survive too long (read the book for hundreds of revealing quotes on this topic). In our detachment from the freedom struggle and ignorance of history, we often fail to acknowledge the fact that India's biggest achievement might be the fact that we survived as one country, a fact now beyond question; and so beyond reproach that it would take a deep conspiracy to imagine otherwise.

In a world where hindsight is 20-20, over a billion people are unable to speculate on what could've should've would've been a better road for India to travel since Independence - Pakistan or no Pakistan, Nehru or Patel, Gandhi right or wrong, Hindu or secular, etc. It is easier to chart a path (any path) to utopia lined up with reversal of outcome at key turning points, but much harder to understand the gravity of flaws in the idea of India and the fragility of initial conditions, despite which we made it. An awareness of the initial conditions followed step-by-step with the path to where we are today, would provide much-needed closure (and surprising optimism) to every Indian or worldly soul interested in this most crazy country; and a brand new set of goggles as we look ahead.

I was waiting for a book like this for a long time. It covers the first 50 years of India as an independent country. All Indians must read this book for a good understanding of India's recent political history, and the shaping of modern India.

The international audience might gasp at the comprehensiveness of this tome, but any politically aware Indian will tell you this book offers the same half-truths, and whips up the same paranoia about Indian right. He composed a banal version of Indian history from regular news sources anybody can get their hands on.

It's a pity so few books about India are available to the international public, and so many of them are written by leftist historians. And worse, this guy is not even a historian. He's at best a sports-writer and at worst a boring one.

There's nothing new this book has to offer. Neither it's correct history, nor its author an historian. Do yourself a favor and don't read this book.

One thing is for sure. India would be a much better place after people like Mr. Guha.