Ancient India : History and Culture/Balkrishna Govind Gokhale. Fifth revised edition. Bombay, 1995, 198 p., $17. ISBN 81-7154-694-3.
Contents: Preface. Part I: 1. The materials. 2. Hunters and farmers. 3. Cities and villages. 4. The horsemen and the landed gentry. 5. The first empire and after. 6. Across the Vindhyas. 7. The second empire. 8. The last Hurrah! Appendices: 1. A note on ancient Indian eras. 2. The Chinese pilgrim travellers. Part II: 9. State and government. 10. Society and economy. 11. Education. 12. Religion and philosophy. 13. Literature. 14. The art of ancient India. 15. India beyond India. Appendix--the scripts of ancient India. Epilogue. Index.
"The book presents a panorama of the history and culture of ancient India from the prehistoric times to about the thirteenth century A.D. In the first part it traces the political history of the subcontinent through the Vedic and Epic ages, the Maurya and Gupta empires and the kingdoms of South India. In the second part subjects such as state and government, society and economic life, education, religion and philosophy, literature, art and the extension of Indian culture to the countries of Asia are discussed. It brings together the most recent research findings on the subject and presents an account of ancient India in scholarly but comprehensible terms.
"For any one interested in India and her ancient culture this book is indispensable. Having gone through six editions it is now completely revised and rewritten edition." (jacket)
[Balkrishna Govind Gokhale is Professor Emeritus at Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, U.S.A. Earlier he served as Professor of History and Director, Asian Studies Programme.]