Product Description

India is poised to become one of the world's three largest economies in the next generation and to overtake China as the world's most populous country by 2032. Well before then India's incipient nuclear deterrent will have acquired intercontinental range and air, sea and land capabilities. India's volatile relationship with its nuclear-armed neighbour, Pakistan, may prove to be the source of the world's next major conflict. And if you call anyone -- from your bank to rail enquiries - - your query may well be dealt with by a graduate in Gujarat. Any way one looks at it, India's fate matters. In IN SPITE OF THE GODS, Edward Luce, one of the most incisive and talented journalists of his generation, will assess the forces that are forging the new nation. Cutting through the miasma that still clouds thinking about India, this extraordinarily accomplished book takes the measure of a society that is struggling to come to grips with modernity. Drawing on historical research, existing literature and his own unparalleled access as the New Delhi-based, South Asia correspondent of the FT, this is a book that will enthral as well as educate and will remain the definitive book on the country for many years.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #327013 in Books
• Published on: 2006-08-24
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 400 pages

Review
'IN SPITE OF THE GODS is without question the best book yet written on New India: witty, clear and accessible yet minutely researched and confidently authoritative. Edward Luce has proved himself an affectionate and unusually perceptive observer of the Indian scene' William Dalrymple

Professor Amartya Sen, winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics
'Not only fun to read, it is also a deeply insightful account of contemporary India . . . A fine introduction'

The Scotsman
'A brilliant, bracingly uncondescending introduction to the new
India in its many-layered modernity, written with perceptiveness, humour
and real respect'

Customer Reviews

Only Scrapes the Surface
Edward Luce has written a very readable uptodate account. He has done his research and sometimes produces some interesting analysis, although he sometimes goes alarmingly far back in history to make some points. However I get the feeling he spent too much time interviewing the political and business elites, and did not really see the rise of the middle class in the towns. Hence he does not understand the true India and what makes it ticks. He makes the point that its not `the economy, stupid' that matters in India, but the politics. Actually, its not `the politics, stupid' it is the society, and he has little insight into this.
Luce makes some interesting comparisons with China and has an illuminating chapter on foreign affairs but his shopping-list of recommendations on how to put India on the right track domestically are simply laughable, and even downright arrogant, displaying a complete disregard for how the electorate might perceive any of his recommendations, eg. increasing the price of electricity and water. The now defunct and discredited Enron went bellyup in India under just such a delusion, and he, as a Financial Times journalist should know this.

An excellent overview of contemporary India
Edward Luce's style is clear and concise, producing a readable and informative book based on his personal experience of living in India and working as a journalist for the FT. He offers his insight into how modern India has evolved out of the policies of Gandhi and Nehru; its relationship to the rest of the world and its uneasy connection with Pakistan.

He describes how British rule introduced a bureaucracy which has developed into one with considerable power within the country; frequently to the disadvantage of the poorest in society who are unable to benefit from government interventions aimed at supporting them as funds are invariably diverted into the pockets of the burra sahibs.

He gives an illuminating account of the rise of the BJP and its influence on the Hindu-Muslim relationship. All is not quite as it seems, however, and he also describes the inter relationship of various Muslim groups and the complicated political manoeuvring between the parties that this produces.

Whether you agree with everything he writes, it is a great insight into how India is developing into a super power along with China, which will alter the balance of world power in the 21st century. If you have an interest in India and its status in today's world, this is an excellent book to invest time with.

A little basic
This is a readable work by somebody who's comfortable of competently discussing both economics and sociology at a fairly knowledgeable level, though for old hand with India there's nothing much new or original here. For someone however who knows little about modern India one could do worse than choose this book as a starting point. It discusses a wide range of issues from globalisation to religious and communal violence and the author records his conversations with some of the key players. All in all a good read but perhaps a little basic, serves more as an introduction rather than a text where great insight is to be gotten.