In Spite of the Gods: The Strange Rise of Modern India

by Edward Luce

Book Overview

As the world's largest democracy and a rising international economic power, India has long been heralded for its great strides in technology and trade. Yet it is also plagued by poverty, illiteracy,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385514743
• ISBN13: 9780385514743
• Release Date: January 2007
• Publisher: Doubleday Books
• Length: 383 Pages
• Weight: 1.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.6" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

For anybody even remotely interested in India

Fantastic assessment of India. Economics, history, politics, it's all here. Beyond economics, an insightful account of the politics of caste, the up to date assessment of the Kashmir issue, and glimpse into the failures and achievements of the state. The book is a journalist's account, not an attempt to provide in-depth, economic or political examination. You will enjoy his brilliant writing style and natural curiosity about a place that is so rich despite being so poor.

on an objective view on india

the auhtor gives a vivid description of present politics, religion, castes in india; he manages to show that in spite of seeral problems associated with corruption, castes and relgious quarrels and sectarianism, India has progressed and especially the progress is commendable since similar opportunities were given to the neighbouring countries such as pakistan, burma, bangala desh, sri lanka, indonesia, viet nam..... worth reading esply if you are palnning a trip to india be tourist or on business;

Wondering About India: Palimpsest or Pentimento?

­­­­Wondering About India: Palimpsest or Pentimento? RAJESH C. OZA, Jun 12, 2007 In Spite of the Gods: The Strange Rise of Modern India by Edward Luce. Doubleday, January, 2007. 383 pages. $[...]. Decades ago A.L. Basham wrote an academic tome titled The Wonder That Was India. I happened across a pristine copy in a second-hand bookshop near the University of Chicago, where Indologists were doing first-class scholarship about the Indian subcontinent. My way of belonging to that community was to acquire the books that those scholars wrote and read. While I have read most of the books that I've purchased, Basham's book has remained pristinely unread on my bookshelf. In part, I was intimidated by its size (568 pages). And then there was the weighty title written in the past tense. Every time that I have lifted the book off of its shelf, I've groaned at its heft and silently complained, "But my India is a wonder." Edward Luce's In Spite of the Gods: The Strange Rise of Modern India is an antidote to books that suggest that the vitality of Indian civilization expired sometime between the Mughal Period and British Imperialism. Luce shares the following anecdotal gem to support his case that Indian culture has an unparalleled thread of continuity: "When A.L. Basham, the British classical historian, wrote his still widely admired book The Wonder That Was India in 1954, he tried to persuade his American publishers to make a minor alteration in the title .... Professor Basham said that in India's case the `was' should be changed to `is,' since the country's civilizational story was unbroken." The publishers were unmoved by the professor's argument. Happily, Luce's readers will be moved by the lively writing and provocative arguments in In Spite of the Gods . Page after page is filled with quote-worthy insight. The careful reader is rewarded by questions that these insights raise. For example, Luce notes that "in India the modern lifestyle is just another layer on the country's ancient palimpsest ... Most Europeans tend to think of modernity as the triumph of a secular way of life: church attendance gradually dwindles and religion becomes a minority pastime confined to worshipers' private lives ... In Europe the past is the past. But in India, the past is in many ways also the future." But is India a palimpsest, a layering of old, religious ways onto the new? Do tradition and modernity coexist like a grandparent and grandchild in an extended family? How far below the hip-hop-happening surface of agnostic call centers does one need to scratch to discover Aryans galloping on horseback to their Hindu homeland? Or witness Ashoka's conversion to Buddhism? Or experience Akbar's ecumenical Islam? If the metaphor of palimpsest hides more than it illuminates, is India instead a pentimento? Is it like those layered canvases where earlier images show through as the top layer of the painting becomes transparent with age? Simply put, is India's post-Independence d

Where we are, How we got here

If you are looking for a book that tells you where India is today, where she's going and how she can get there, this is NOT the right book for you. However, if you are looking for a book that tells you where India is today and how it got here in the last century especially since independence, Ed Luce does as good a job as anyone can given the complex glob of a million entangled threads that is India. The book is not futuristic, it is introspective. The book does not speculate, it reveals. At the time of release of this book, it is hip to write about India's growing economy and laud the unbelieveable potential that lies ahead, what with the booming IT and Biotech industry and scores of parallels one can draw with other countries that passed this phase. While those books present great hypotheses, imagination and optimism; they either focus on a section of India that is not representative of the country as a whole, or miss some fundamental understanding of the realities of the country. The issues covered in this book are given as much relative priority as a top Indian diplomat or policy maker ought to give. In that sense, the book provides a holistic view of India in a manner that is investigative, well informed and insightful. The author's criticism is far from cynicism, and his admiration is far from adulation. For a country that incites much emotion among authors, Ed Luce's objective view is quite refreshing. The author is probably at just the right viewing distance from India: not too close to let emotions cloud his judgement, and close enough to be wise and vested (not just well informed) in the topics he writes about. After reading this book, I have learnt about topics that I did not expect to learn about when I picked up the book. Having said that, the book does not explore the depths of all topics, though cites other works that do. Ed Luce is certainly on my watch-list of authors now.

An in-depth look at the good, the bad, and the ugly that is india

among all the books talking up india recently (and i have read just about all), this one is very different. i was born in india but have lived in the US most of my life. this book is an incredibly detailed perspective into the "real" india. compared to this, other books seems superficial. the social, political, ethnic, and daily life challenges that face india as it attempts to join the modern world are presented in an unbiased, sometimes unflattering way, with excellent depth, detail, and intelligence. one criticism i have is that at time, the details are perhaps a bit much, and i kept wondering just how the author knows so much, so many names, details, and facts that are typically known only through folklore and legend to native-born indians. he must have done a superb amount of research to write this book. if you are new to india, and have time to read just one book, this is the one. prepare to be humored, shocked, awed, disappointed, and encouraged. this book takes you through the true india, and it will stun your senses over and over again. finally, if you are familiar with US democracy and some of the challenges it faces today, this book is a must-read. i could not help thinking that some of what indians face in their multi-ethnic, complex democracy is rapidly coming of age here in american democracy. i truly enjoyed this incredible and highly revealing journey into india, one that exposes all that is good, bad, and ugly about the country, its society, and its institutions.