We always saw Dr Amartya Sen as an Economist and not as a philosopher(If we have not read his workss on Welfare Economics), here he reminds us that he teach Philosophy as well.
If you know a lot about Indian history or have read books like Nehru’s discovery of India this book is definetly for you, But yes don’t hope to learn anything new. This book is a plesent revision of everything you knew about India, may be if you have skipped or oversaw few things in the past, then this this book help you. From vedic age to modern day hapenings in India Mr Sen takes a journey, allmost all the way he sees India through the eyes of different authors, very less of his own analysis, at some point you feel a need to argue with the author.If you have studied history books written by hindutva protognists then the history as presented by Amartya sen may confuse you, but don’t worry , Dr Sen draws history from western scholors who wrote long back . His analysis and quotes from those westren writers and orientalists are quite enjoyable.
If you are looking for some entertainment then stay away from this book, This will act as a gift item as well , you can keep it with you and take along with you every where so that you can show off as a good reader!.(just joking).
Give it a try, its good.