India: A Portrait Audiobook

" Decent socio-political review of modern day India with relevant historical background. Agree with other reviews that this book is heavily anecdotal, but I also found that was what made it readable as opposed to a purely factual historical read. "

" A very ordinary portrait of India...After a long time, i come across this boring book "

" 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. "

" physically handsome book; loosely organized; anecdotal; of interest if you're interested "

" In a style loosely reminiscent of his India-loving compatriot William Dalrymple, Patrick French discovers what it means to be Indian through a series of interwoven narratives from his experiences as a foreign correspondent here with the Financial Times. French combines the rigour of a journalist with a compassion for humanity and an unerring eye for detail making this a highly enjoyable read. "

" i just finished reading this book and the continuity is good between the events that are said.overall i enjoyed this book , development of india is portrayed in a lucid manner. "

" Awesome read.....an outsiders view of india based on extensive research & hardwork.....must read....:) "

" Read the sample on my ereader. While interesting. I didn't enjoy it enough to purchase. "

" Interesting account of Indian history and also modern India. Most of the stories and people that he covers are those that were in the news recently. Overall an enjoyable read on India. "

" Whew..to much for me. The first hundred and last hundred pages were interesting but skipped the middle. If you like painfully deep information on India's politics over the last 50 yrs...not my thing. "

" Dryer than I expected... but still, hard to make these stories entirely dull. "

" if you want to know more India's development s and loop holes as well go through it "

" Really liked the book. Got a lot of information out of it. "

" One of the few times I rate a book 5 on 5. Was an absolute delight! "

" A fascinating portrait of a vast and diverse nation and its people. Patrick French is an engaging narrator. He paints verbal pictures of a wide range of characters, their lives and experiences. "

" Solid overview of contemporary history of India. "

" Very interesting book about the society of India. Learned a lot and the style of writing was also interesting. Recommendation for everybody who wants to understand Indian culture a little bit better. "

" Sometimes, I am still amazed that I thought I didn't like non-fiction. I do! When it is interesting and well-written, like this. "

" Dryer than I expected... but still, hard to make these stories entirely dull. "

" physically handsome book; loosely organized; anecdotal; of interest if you're interested "

" This book is well researched, but I didn't feel like I learned a great deal more about India from reading it. (Then again, I've read a great deal about India in the last couple of years.) "

" Could've benefited from a stricter editor, but overall quite insightful and interesting. The first section was my favorite. I laughed a lot more than I expected. "

" Read the sample on my ereader. While interesting. I didn't enjoy it enough to purchase. "

" A brief history of modern India, how unique and influential it is, and how it got that way. Astonishing depth of detail and research. It is a multitude and a contradiction. "

" Interesting account of Indian history and also modern India. Most of the stories and people that he covers are those that were in the news recently. Overall an enjoyable read on India. "