Viewed in the West as a time of self-confident progress, the Victorian period was experienced by Asians as a catastrophe. As the British gunned down the last heirs to the Mughal Empire or burned down the Summer Palace in Beijing, it was clear that for Asia to recover a new way of thinking was needed.
Pankaj Mishra re-tells the history of the past two centuries, showing how a remarkable, disparate group of thinkers, journalists, radicals and charismatics emerged from the ruins of empire to create an unstoppable Asian renaissance, one whose ideas lie behind everything from the Chinese Communist Party to the Muslim Brotherhood, and have made our world what it is today.
‘Arrestingly original

… this penetrating and disquieting book should be on the reading list of anybody who wants to understand where we are today.’ John Gray, Independent

‘Riveting … deeply entertaining and deeply humane.’ Hisham Matar

‘Fascinating … rich and genuinely thought-provoking.’ Noel Malcolm, Sunday Telegraph

‘A superb history.’

Mohsin Hamid, Observer, Books of the Year

‘Provocative, shaming and convincing.’ Michael Binyon, The Times

‘Lively … engaging … retains the power to shock.’ Mark Mazower, Financial Times

‘Subtle, erudite and entertaining.’ Economist, Books of the Year