In this collection, Ramachandra Guha discusses various topics in his essays, from the Congress dynasty to a bookshop in Bangalore. Dr. Guha examines extremist views with a serious vein and offers his anecdotes about the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library and the Oxford University Press.

About Ramachandra Guha

Ramachandra Guha is an Indian historian and writer. He is well known for his books: India After Gandhi, Makers of Modern India and Gandhi Before India.

Dr. Guha completed his fellowship at the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta and currently serves as the Sundaraja Visiting Professor in the Humanities at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.

Specifications

Book Details

Imprint	ALLEN LANE
Publication Year	2012

Contributors

Authored By

Ramachandra Guha

Ratings and Reviews

3.9

★

75 Ratings &

11 Reviews

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37
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19
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14

5 ★

Worth a read ! Strongly recommended !

Seldom can you call a work of non-fiction ‘unputdownable’. The later phrase is reserved for the Dan Browns and the Forsyths. Coming from a historian, a non-fiction, which Ramachandra Guha’s latest offering Patriots and Partisans (2012) is, the phrase ‘unputdownable’ might appear to be an exaggeration for many. But after reading 334 pages, without taking recourse to any in-between fiction to keep the monotony of a non-fictional work at bay, I would say that my using of that phrase ‘unputdownab...

Priyadarshini Ghosh

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10 Jan, 2013

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4 ★

Interesting Read

Ramchandra Guha is one of my favorite writer/ commentator of India. His great style of fluid writing is on display in this book also.

While many might agree and disagree with few facets of his observations, overall I found is quite good and at par with India After Gandhi.

If you love Guha's writing style and is open to his observations and views, this book will be a good read for you about Indian Political Scenario. This however is not a book on 'unknown' 'undercover' or 'classifieds' so ...

Sabyasachi Ghosh

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26 Nov, 2012

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3 ★

Good but not vintage Guha

'Patriots and Partisans' is organized is as a series of essays. The problem with such a format is that there is no central theme throughout the book as each essay is fairly independent of the other. I personally feel that essays may be a good format in magazines where the reader's attention is more limited but not for books, where the author has more space. Most of the essays had been published in magazines such as the Caravan, Economic & Political Weekly etc. and therefore it appears ideas w...

Surya JVS

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28 Dec, 2012

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4 ★

Intersting Essays

Probably this is the only non-fiction which I could finish very quickly, without taking many breaks. The authors tried his writing on various aspects. Very interesting analysis. Certain essays though are my interest - The Nehru Memorial Museum & Library (NMML),
Premier Book Shop, Bangalore AND Economic and Political Weekly (EPW).

Arun

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1 Dec, 2012

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4 ★

Non-Partisan view of Indian History

The collection of essays deals with important issues of political legacy, ideology and with the moral underpinnings of politics of heyday. The writing comes across as engaging, it keeps one interested in the subject. The last few essays that capture the authors' personal interaction with some of India's lofty public intellectuals gives a very lucid commentary on how individual contributions, albeit small, have shaped India over the years.

Prateek Sibal

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5 Nov, 2014

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1 ★

Stupid and idiotic

As usual Ram Chandra Guha - The known congress stooge gives out one more stupidity infested book for his congress fans. Only one thing to say for Guha who makes mockery of history and is himself a self styled historian - Grow up Guha!

Harshvardhan Sharma

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24 Aug, 2013

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4 ★

Book Review: Patriots & Partisans

The book Patriots & Partisans by eminent historian Ramachandra Guha is a great combination of various essays on democracy, politics, people and sociology. The essays are divided into two parts: Part I named Debating Democracy comprises of 9 essays covering a wide range of topics related to politics and democracy; Part II names The World and The World has 6 essays that highlight personalities and people who have contributed to enriching intellectualism in India.

Guha starts his preface with...

Kanti Brahma

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5 Nov, 2014

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4 ★

Worth a read!

From history to politics,bookshop in bengaluru to Nehru memorial in Delhi,Mr Guha beautifully came up with a good number of essays on varied topics.Even he went on to tell story of Oxford University Press and how the things changed over time.How Nehru memorial Delhi,which was once a place for scholar, now rusting with dust.

Recommended if you are not dogmatic and open to views!!

Jinesh Parakh

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26 Apr, 2014

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4 ★

Interesting range of topics

This is Ramachandra Guha at a phase in his career where he can be assured that he can write about anything he pleases and it will sell. The topics covered in this collection of essays is almost bizarrely diverse - from a long rant about the Nehru Memorial Library in Delhi to a sentimental piece about Premier Bookshop In Bangalore. The great thing is its all very well written. His essay "The Beauty of Compromise" is probably worth the price of the book. Definitely worth reading.

Monisha C.

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4 Dec, 2013

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5 ★

A must buy

Brilliantly written. The book provides a critique of various socio-political and cultural and economical events that has shaped this country. very insightful and thoroughly researched, Ramachandra Guha has been at his best in sharing his original thoughts and explanations on different topics concerning but not limited to the idea of India. Be it Hindu nationalists or Nehruvian socialism, market economics or Maoist incursions, he has a clear and logical explanation for it all. This book has s...

cyan 64

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1 Aug, 2013

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All 11 reviews

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