This sumptuously illustrated book with its magical mix of history and travelogue will provide an unforgettable portrait of India.

In this lavishly illustrated companion to his BBC TV series, Michael Wood weaves a spellbinding narrative out of the 10,000-year history of India. Home today to more than a fifth of the world’s population, the subcontinent gave birth to the oldest and most influential civilization on Earth, to four world religions, and to the world’s largest democracy. Now, as India bids to become a global giant, Michael sets out to trace the roots of India’s present in the incredible riches of her past.

From the Khyber Pass and the Himalayas to the tropical jungles of India’s Deep South, this original and striking survey of Indian history provides vivid portraits of India’s regions and cultures, and new insights into some of history’s greatest figures: the Buddha and Ashoka, Samudragupta and Akbar the Great, Nehru and Gandhi. It explores the ways in which Indian ideas and inventions have shaped the history of the world, and shows how some of ancient India’s conclusions about the nature of civilization have lost none of their relevance for our own times.

Dazzling colour photographs capture an extraordinary spectrum of landscapes, architectural splendours, customs, rituals and festivals. This sumptuously illustrated book from one of Britain’s best-loved historians and broadcasters is a magical mixture of history and travelogue, and an unforgettable portrait of India, past, present — and future.

迈克尔•伍德（Michael Wood）

1948年生于英国， 毕业于牛津大学奥瑞尔学院历史系，身兼历史学家、纪录片制片人、主持人、作家等多重身份，英国皇家历史协会成员，桑德兰大学名誉博士。他制作并主持了超过80部电视纪录片，并有多部讲述英国历史的专著，在英美等地深受欢迎。

代表作有：电视记录片《印度的故事》、《历史铁道大旅行》、《追寻文明的起源》、《亚历山大东征传奇》、《神话与英雄大观》等；历史著作《追寻中世纪》、《追寻英国》、《追寻莎士比亚》等。