{"product_id":"2940170375592","title":"India: A Portrait","description":"A monumental biography of the subcontinent  from the award-winning author of The World Is What It Is: The Authorized  Biography of V. S. Naipaul.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  Second only to China in the magnitude of its economic miracle and second to  none in its potential to shape the new century, India is fast undergoing one  of the most momentous transformations the world has ever seen. In this  dazzlingly panoramic book, Patrick French chronicles that epic change,  telling human stories to explain a larger national narrative.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  Melding on-the-ground reports with a deep knowledge of history, French  exposes the cultural foundations of India's political, economic and social  complexities. He reveals how a nation identified with some of the most  wretched poverty on earth has simultaneously developed an envied culture of  entrepreneurship (here are stories like that of C. K. Ranganathan, who  trudged the streets of Cuddalore in the 1980s selling sample packets of  shampoo and now employs more than one thousand people). And even more  remarkably, French shows how, despite the ancient and persistent traditions  of caste, as well as a mind-boggling number of ethnicities and languages,  India has nevertheless managed to cohere, evolving into the world's largest  democracy, largely fulfilling Jawaharlal Nehru's dream of a secular liberal  order.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  French's inquiry goes to the heart of all the puzzlements that modern India  presents: Is this country actually rich or poor? Why has its Muslim  population, the second largest on earth, resisted radicalization to such a  considerable extent? Why do so many children of Indians who have succeeded in  the West want to return \"home,\" despite never having lived in India? Will  India become a natural ally of the West, a geostrategic counterweight to the  illiberal rising powers China and Russia? To find the answers, French seeks  out an astonishing range of characters: from Maoist revolutionaries to Mafia  dons, from chained quarry laborers to self-made billionaires. And he delves into  the personal lives of the political elite, including the Italian-born Sonia  Gandhi, one of the most powerful women in the world.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  With a familiarity and insight few Westerners could approach, Patrick French  provides a vital corrective to the many outdated notions about a uniquely  dynamic and consequential nation. His India is a thrilling revelation.","brand":"Instructional Systems [Aubrey J. Kline (aka Jim Kline dba Instructional Systems)]","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47115238211824,"sku":"2940170375592","price":39.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/516204752.png?v=1739897807","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940170375592","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}