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| In an Antique Land: History in the Guise of a Traveler's Tale | 
 enlarge | Author: Amitav Ghosh
Publisher: Vintage
Category: Book
List Price: $15.95
Buy New: $8.91
You Save: $7.04 (44%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  (21 reviews)
Sales Rank: 8155
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 400
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.1 x 1
ISBN: 0679727833
Dewey Decimal Number: 916.2042
EAN: 9780679727835
ASIN: 0679727833
Publication Date: March 29, 1994
Release Date: March 29, 1994
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
As he searches for information about the life of an Indian slave in twelfth-century Egypt, the author, a Hindu, comes face to face with the Muslim world and culture of modern Egypt, in a narrative that juxtaposes ancient history and modern travelogue.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 16 more reviews...
 Unique Style July 20, 2008
Dr. Ghosh is a social anthropologist by training, and a gentle one at that. He is also a gifted writer and a masterful storyteller. At least that is the impression I have formed from reading this book.
The book is part travelogue, part history and part anthropology. These three themes have been interwoven carefully, much like the layers of a leavened bread. And then there are gems of insights, somewhat like raisins mixed in the bread. The effect is somewhat soulful, and leaves you wonderstruck, not just at the story he tells, but als the skill and craftmanship with which he tell it.
The pace is slow, like sipping a fine drink, and rolling it slowly around with your tongue to get the flavour. Several readers have found this annoying, but I did not. It did not cause any loss of interest, but had me coming back to the book over a week, waiting expectantly for the story to unfurl, and looking forward to that raisin.
The base story is about a Jewish merchant, who migrated to India in the middle of 12th century, married and lived there for nearly 20 years. He also acquired a 'slave', who serves as the opening gambit of the book.
Dr. Ghosh followed his (merchant's) trail, as a doctoral project and hence lived for several years in a village Egypt. This gave him an opportunity to juxtapose his own story with that of the merchant, and show how the cultures and religions of the region have moved apart and yet have remained intertwined. He also uses the narrative to share his views on modernity, technology, colonisation, war and how it affects all our lives.
I found that the insights which he helps you get are very special - for instance, the bewilderment faced by Indians in the face of European attempts to monoploize trade routues in the Indian Ocean, when for centuries trade had prospered through cooperation and not domination. Similarly, how his visit to an ancient tomb in modern Egypt could have the police after him, themselves bewildered at what an Indian could be doing at a Jewish/Muslim sacred place. Or that 'slave' is a multi-textured word, with different meanings and implications across history and places.
I have now been given to understand that his other books also have similar qualities, and I am keenly looking forward to reading these.
The Hardcover edition that I read has been published by Penguin India and is available only in the subcontinent. The binding and paper was good, and for once, there were no printing errors. The type-face is nice and large, and the book is very good value at Rs.495.
An excellent book, especially if you are interested in how the past continues to live with the present, despite changing all the time.
 Man in the Middle-East September 4, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
If National Geographic stories reconstructing a stone-age human from its fossilized remains dug out of the ashes of a volcano (such as in physical anthropology) fail to engage your fascination, chances are that this story will seem more academic to you than the home work assignment to watch History Channel. I am one such history-averse person and the book was too slow to start. However, I finished it with a renewed respect for social anthropology and its relevance to the world we live in. The way a story of a 12th century Egyptian trader can be relevant to the social, cultural, political and business of our times is hard to ignore and not take heed of. Besides, it is fascinating to learn how a small set of information sources with varying degrees of reliability can be connected like dots that reveal the story of a 800 year old human life in all its aspects.
Some of the revelations in the book that left me agape were: the rich history of trade between Indian and Egypt that made a lasting impact on the evolution of both countries and her peoples; the complex way in which the social temper and cultural identity of a country are entrenched in religion, thus making religion the primary tool for governing powers to achieve political and business goals in ways that are irreversibly divisive; the power of a united few with a disruptive agenda over the divided many with a peaceful one.
Apparently, this book is part of the course reading for anthropology students at UC, Santa Cruz (and possibly many other universities worldwide), as I found out from a student sitting next to me in the plane. However, Amitav Ghosh's extensive research goes beyond anthropology and throws light on relevant topics of today such as Iraq & the Middle East, the cultural divide between Jewish, Muslims, Christians and Hindus, the Indian identity, and the massive social changes that conservative rural Muslims are grappling with.
 Did I read the same book? August 31, 2007
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
I found this book extremely dry and slow moving. All the other reviews focus on the master-slave relationship. I kept waiting for this part of the plot to get moving, and it was 200 pages before it even happened. "The Hungry Tide" is a far better work by this author.
Wonderful book and one that I had read before , but once was not enough January 18, 2007
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
I had read this book few years ago , but recently I had a conversation with a freind about it. I just thought I would like to have a copy and read it again.
A book that I will recomend .
Enjoyed immensely-have lived in the area January 11, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I enjoyed this book immensely as I have lived and researched in the Kanara Coast of India where a main character in the book spends a great deal of his life and where there have been from early times trade relations with the Middle East. Although I have not researched in the Egypt I can relate to many research experiences of the author. It was a real treat for me. Martha B. Ashton-Sikora
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