From the Ruins of Empire

My fourth book by Pankaj Mishra and I think so far it's the best one. The breadth of coverage on Asian history is amazing. I also got introduced to the concept of Pan-Asianism, and realised how strong it had been around the turn of the last century. (I still have got through half of it , but thought of compiling my thoughts / notes before the first part fades away).

So far the book has distinct parts which covers key personalities which shaped the future of the Asian empires around that time. So if you were as ignorant as I was, you would get introduced to Al Afghani and Liang Qichao , key personalities in the Pan Islamic movement and shaping the future of China respectively. It gives a perspective of very very different geo political world of that time, where China was closer to what Afghanistan is today, Delhi and Istanbul the cultural capitals of the Islamic world, the struggles of the Asian countries against the ruthless assault of the Europeans, the great cities like Chicago, Tokyo , Berlin , London etc . became the cultural melting points from across the world.


(in progress)