Makers of Modern Asia by Ramachandra Guha (PDF)

Description

Hardly more than a decade old, the twenty-first century has already been dubbed the Asian Century in recognition of China and India’s increasing importance in world affairs. Yet discussions of Asia seem fixated on economic indicators―gross national product, per capita income, share of global trade. Makers of Modern Asia reorients our understanding of contemporary Asia by highlighting the political leaders, not billionaire businessmen, who helped launch the Asian Century.The nationalists who crafted modern Asia were as much thinkers as activists, men and women who theorized and organized anticolonial movements, strategized and directed military campaigns, and designed and implemented political systems. The eleven thinker-politicians whose portraits are presented here were a mix of communists, capitalists, liberals, authoritarians, and proto-theocrats―a group as diverse as the countries they represent.From China, the world’s most populous country, come four: Mao Zedong, leader of the Communist Revolution; Zhou Enlai, his close confidant; Deng Xiaoping, purged by Mao but rehabilitated to play a critical role in Chinese politics in later years; and Chiang Kai-shek, whose Kuomintang party formed the basis of modern Taiwan. From India, the world’s largest democracy, come three: Mohandas Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Indira Gandhi, all of whom played crucial roles in guiding India toward independence and prosperity. Other exemplary nationalists include Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh, Indonesia’s Sukarno, Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew, and Pakistan’s Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. With contributions from leading scholars, Makers of Modern Asia illuminates the intellectual and ideological foundations of Asia’s spectacular rise to global prominence.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: Review “[An] entertaining and illuminating collection of essays… The chapters on Sukarno, by James Rush, and on Bhutto, by Farzana Shaikh, are exceptional.”―The Economist“Biographies of 11 galvanizers of modern Asian nationalism, from Gandhi to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, underscore the importance of politics before economics… Editor Guha reminds Western readers in his introduction that to concentrate on Asia’s stunning recent economic rise without studying the nationalist developments that preceded it is to ignore (again), at our great loss, the essential makeup and character of these nations. He argues that through understanding the lives of these founders, many of whom―Zhou Enlai and Ho Chi Minh, for example―gleaned their first political understanding from the West, we can grasp the wider political and social processes they effected in their own countries. Composed by various Western and Asian scholars and writers, these essays offer pithy highlights of each individual’s early life and political development, followed by delineation of how each applied his or her beliefs (for good or ill) to anti-colonial campaigns.”―Kirkus Reviews“A much-needed collection… Compared to many biographies of Western political leaders, these stories lack the commercial drama and overheated sensationalism of the bestselling variety, but that characteristic may be a welcome respite for many readers.”―Publishers Weekly“It is all too easy to forget the volcanic history that lies just beneath Asia’s recent economic boom. Makers of Modern Asia reminds us of the immediacy of this history by bringing together biographies of eleven national leaders of the 20th century whose ruthless pursuit of modernity and power must continue to shape Asia’s course in the future.”―Timothy Brook, author of Mr. Selden’s Map of China About the Author Ramachandra Guha is a leading historian of modern India, living in Bangalore. His books include Gandhi Before India and India After Gandhi.Jay Taylor is a Research Associate at the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies at Harvard University.Rana Mitter is the author of several books, including A Bitter Revolution: China’s Struggle with the Modern World and Forgotten Ally: China’s World War II, 1937–1945, named a Book of the Year in The Economist and Financial Times. He has commented on Asia for the BBC, NPR, CNN, the New York Times, the History Channel, and the World Economic Forum at Davos. Professor of the History and Politics of Modern China at the University of Oxford, he is also a Fellow of the British Academy and an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.Odd Arne Westad is Elihu Professor of History and Global Affairs at Yale University. A Fellow of the British Academy, he is the author of Restless Empire: China and the World since 1750 and The Global Cold War: Third World Interventions and the Making of Our Times, which won the Bancroft Prize.Srinath Raghavan is Senior Fellow at the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi, and Senior Research Fellow at King’s India Institute at King’s College London.

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐Very good short Bios of major political figures, who are not well-known in the U.S.I liked the different styles of each one.

⭐A very concise and clear short history.

⭐Though one cannot deny the value of anthologies, fictional or non fictional, there is some degree of consistency in them. It may refer to its narrative flow, its use of imagery or just the context and connectedness of the prose.Makers of Modern Asia on the other hand, does not strive to achieve these aspects. It may be said that it has embodied the spirit of the very subject it addreses: Asia.Informative and subjective, it tries to explain through often disjointed prose the very nature of the society within which a massive chunk of human population lives. And like this society, it is diverse, distinct and often at odds with itself.However, it’s a good read for someone who has not had the opportunity to assess their geopolitical environment and its key players in an academic light. It moves beyond the hearsay of local opinion and dices deep into the subject matter (however inconsistently it may be) and delivers something of a fair understanding for the average reader.Read it but do not expect much and you will be satisfied. Much like a modern film that has been mass-produced in Asia. An apt analogy if I must say.

⭐Excellent book. The writing and descriptions along with the presentation is beyond my expectations.

⭐Deep insight into the lives of leaders

⭐Good perspective. My knowledge about world history was completely blank about Asian leaders. I needed a more balanced view.

⭐

Keywords

Free Download Makers of Modern Asia in PDF format
Makers of Modern Asia PDF Free Download
Download Makers of Modern Asia 2016 PDF Free
Makers of Modern Asia 2016 PDF Free Download
Download Makers of Modern Asia PDF
Free Download Ebook Makers of Modern Asia