India has many histories. To pilgrims from ancient China, India was the birthplace of the Buddha; to Alexander the Great it was a land of naked philosophers and indomitable elephant-mounted armies. At the height of the Mughal empire, India boasted nearly a quarter of the world's economy, and even under colonial rule it was the jewel in the crown of the British empire. Today it is home to one-sixth of the global population.

Andrew Robinson incisively distils India's many incarnations, from the advanced cities of the early Indus Valley civilization to the world's largest democracy. Anyone curious about its past, present or future will find this book, now revised and updated, a fascinating introduction.