An innovative remapping of empire, "Imperial Connections" offers a broad-ranging view of the workings of the British Empire in the period when the India of the Raj stood at the center of a newly globalized system of trade, investment, and migration. Thomas R. Metcalf argues that India itself became a nexus of imperial power that made possible British conquest, control, and governance across a wide arc of territory stretching from Africa to eastern Asia. His book, offering a new perspective on how imperialism operates, emphasizes transcolonial interactions and webs of influence that advanced the interests of colonial India and Britain alike.Metcalf examines such topics as law codes and administrative forms as they were shaped by Indian precedents; the Indian Army's role in securing Malaya, Africa, and Mesopotamia for the empire; the employment of Indians, especially Sikhs, in colonial policing; and the transformation of East Africa into what was almost a province of India through the construction of the Uganda railway. He concludes with a look at the decline of this Indian Ocean system after 1920 and considers how far India's participation in it opened opportunities for Indians to be a colonizing, as well as a colonized people.

In a second edition of their successful Concise History of Modern India, Barbara Metcalf and Thomas Metcalf explore India's modern history afresh and update the events of the last decade. These include the takeover of Congress from the seemingly entrenched Hindu nationalist party in 2004, India's huge advances in technology and the country's new role as a major player in world affairs. From the days of the Mughals, through the British Empire, and into Independence, the country has been transformed by its institutional structures. It is these institutions which have helped bring about the social, cultural and economic changes that have taken place over the last half century and paved the way for the modern success story. Despite these advances, poverty, social inequality and religious division still fester. In response to these dilemmas, the book grapples with questions of caste and religious identity, and the nature of the Indian nation.

“剑桥国别简史丛书”是剑桥大学出版社自20世纪八九十年代始陆续推出的一套插图版国家简史丛书。丛书作者均为英国、美国、澳大利亚等国的历史学教授或知名专家。他们用通俗易懂的语言向读者介绍了所述国家的政治、经济、文化和社会历史变迁。图书权威、通俗，可读性强。丛书出版后获得了巨大成功，有的品种重印多达10余次。我社从中精选10本奉献给读者。 《印度简史》为丛书中的一本。本书简要介绍了印度从莫卧尔人时期至今的历史，其中包括18世纪晚期到1947年印度独立，印度作为英属殖民地的历史。本书最后一章介绍了20世纪90年代印度经历的一些重要事件，如经济变革、宗教民族主义，以及印度作为一个拥有核武器的国家出现在世人面前等等。本书重点讲述印度真政治结构的演变与发展，也介绍了它的社会变迁和丰富多彩的文化生活。