Bloomsbury The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World

A perfect journey mounted on each granular details to cast a right picture. Must read.

I was initially sceptical about a book that has as its core a story that covers such a vast expanse both geographically and across time. In his earlier books Dalrymple has always been more focussed in his subject matter, however he’s pulled off an extraordinary feat.It manages to be both scholarly and readable; an engrossing and hitherto untold story at least to a nonspecialist reader. It throws new light by bringing together bits of history that until now have been fragmented and diffused into different specialisms.Dalrymple has deftly woven a narrative from a cast of fascinating characters and stories that stretch the imagination you would scarcely believe they were true. Good job he has attached copious notes and a bibliography for verification at the end so it doesn't get in the way of a good yarn.I was continuously surprised and engrossed.

The book is well written, encapsulating the essence of the theme that highlights how india spread it's ideas abroad and foreigners that came became reverse acculturised to Indian ways. The main theme revolves around Post Mauryan period 200 Bce - 300Ce when monsoon was discovered by Hippalus providing impetus to trade from red sea and Mediterranean region. The First chapter deals with the story how Ajanta caves were discovered and the mural paintings that depicted the spirit of the contemporary age.A bit dissatisfied when author mentions Buddhism opposed upanishadic thought whic is no doubt a bit true, albeit the Shramanic Traditions that emerged lay their ideological foundation on Upanishadic thought. This may be my personal bias.Nevertheless it beautifully explains how India was centre of ancient world and well highlights the Golden Road

Truly amazing!

Well bound and beautifully printed, colour plates, 100pages of notes, over 50 pages of bibliography. Very well written, the story flows and I find it very instructive, passionating epic story of Indian influence, restoring distorted historical tacts. Thank you Mr Dalrymple! Love all your books, been to Jaipur literature festival in 2013, glad I crossed your path! As an art historian and loving India I highly recommend this book!

This is a really well researched book about an aspect of history previously little known to me. Although full of detail it is beautifully balanced with a style that flows and enables the reader to keep pace with the timeline as it develops.I enjoyed reading this book. It filled a gap in my minds eye and broadened my historical horizons, previously European / Mediterranean centric. Thank you.