Although the story that Dalrymple tells has long been the stuff of college classrooms, his great achievement is in assembling the disparate fragments of early India’s engagements across the continent into a delightfully readable whole ... He is at his best when he takes us along in person ... Like any unofficial guide, Dalrymple prefers to tell the most colorful and charming version of the story, generally sweeping away the reservations and ambiguities of modern scholarship to his endnotes.
Dalrymple has made a heroic effort to traverse this difficult terrain, presenting a beautifully written book, replete with colourful individuals, fascinating anecdotes, little-known facts and dramatic events, all the while telling a story hitherto apparently untold ... The chapters instead have distinct focuses ... Compelling ... The research is wide-ranging and impressive. Though the focus on people, stories and events makes The Golden Road enjoyable to read.
Wonderful ... Fascinating ... Read it through in delight, acquiring knowledge, perhaps even wisdom. Then you will surely return to read much of it again. My only complaint is that the maps are too sketchy and faint for my ageing eyes.
Dazzling ... Deft ... Dalrymple is a born storyteller, with a wonderful facility for expounding complex events with verve and clarity. Like any successful synthesis, his text draws on vast reading as well as a keen eye for telling details. Yet it’s also a deeply personal work.
Dalrymple is enthralled by the postcard monuments of ancient India’s 'soft power' ... The struggle of ideas in modern India is not so much between right- and left-leaning historians, but between those who write about the past and those who aspire to rewrite the past.
Outstanding ... An absorbingly literary history, a tale of tales, and, in Dalrymple’s telling, it was most notably through the dissemination of stories — including ideas and doctrines given narrative form ... Masterful.
Rich in nuance and vivid detail ... Unfortunately, for all the depth Dalrymple brings to other parts of Southeast Asia—Cambodia and Indonesia in particular—his treatment of ancient Indian influence in Malaysia is strikingly cursory ... If The Golden Road aims to tell the full story of Indian civilization’s outward arc, then Malaysia’s omission is more than just a missed opportunity; it is a structural flaw.
Comprehensive and meticulously researched ... When considered holistically, as Dalrymple does so well, it’s clear that India’s impacts cannot be understated and have shaped the world for thousands of years.
Magisterial ... Dalrymple is an energetic and learned historian of India, but this is the first of his books to delve into the country’s ancient history. His range is deep and wide.
Although the book is dense with far-flung names, dates, places, and ideas, Dalrymple’s writing is always animated, enlivened by color plates that allow readers to readily envision the sights evoked here. A passionate tribute to the glories—and influence—of ancient India.
