India - Book on India recommendation

Hi,
I was wondering if anybody on the forum had any recommendations on a good and easy to read book on India that focuses on history, cutlure, modern day affairs in a digestible format (meaning that i'm trying to avoid long drawn out treatises or boring guide books).

I read something like this when I went to Thailand (called Bangkok Confidential), and also some good novels set in modern day Bangkok that gave me a great feel for what to expect...

Any recommendations (ideally available on the Kindle) would be very welcome.

Thanks,

Mike

try 'makers of modern india' by ramachandra guha....

"Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found" by Suketu Mehta is very good. It's about Mumbai specifically, but a lot can be extrapolated to the rest of India.

try 'makers of modern india' by ramachandra guha....

Seconded. His other book, India after Gandhi is also an excellent read, although less applicable to a non-Indian.

Also, it's important to remember that the book is not actually authored by him - he just edited/compiled other authors' work.

Thanks guys, will try to find Makers of Modern India in one of the bookstores around here.

On a side note, am currently reading Shantaram and as much as it's a novel, am really getting a lot out of it.

Thanks for the suggestions,

Mike

On a side note, am currently reading Shantaram and as much as it's a novel, am really getting a lot out of it.

one of my favourite books....^^