" this is a well written thorough, intelligent work. i enjoyed french's biography of naipaul and was encouraged to try this based on that experience combined with a long standing desire to get my head around india - as i know so little about it. endeavouring to describe a country is ambitious by any means, where do you start ? .....french addresses his subject in a quasi- biographical way and attempts to conjure - via a mind numbingly vast array of anecdotes, facts, observations and historical perspective - a picture of modern india. however, notwithstanding his accomplished and engaging writing style and the rich and well selected repertoire of experience and scholarship the book was a struggle for me, relentless in its tone and manners it seemed to never end and i grew wearier and wearier and increasingly disillusioned with the book as my journey through it progressed. maybe this is me or maybe french just was not able to control his subject with adequate dexterity to be able to maintain my attention and his need and desire to complete it was not as a a consequence of desire but of duty. perhaps if i had visited india or was visiting india while reading it the book may have been more accesible. so sadly whilst my admiration for french remains firmly intact based on his admirable rigour and intellect my appreciation of modern indian culture remains largely obscured by this text. "
— Mark, 2/12/2014