Immensely readable and informative book using material from the author's BBC series and personal experience. ( )

An engaging history of the subcontinent, emphasizing points of overlap, borrowing, and congruence between its cultures (as well as the inevitable conflicts). India is too broad a topic for one brief book, but Wood seems to have picked his areas of focus and events to examine well. I liked it enough to order a print copy and look up the BBC videos as well. ( )

This book was published as a spin-off from the BBC documentary series of the same name. The book covers the period from the very first cities in the world - one of which was in the Indus valley, through to more modern times. With such a time span, the coverage is selective, but excellent vignettes are chosen to provide illustrative examples from the history of India. Sadly, the book is essentially a written version of the TV series and what works well on screen does not necessarily transfer directly to print. But the content had such good potential that I responded by getting the DVDs of the TV series. Problem solved. Read April 2011. ( )

Easy read, good primer to South Asian History. Better done with the eponymous BBC documentary. Skip if acquainted with the subject. ( )

PBS home video
6 hours
color