This book tells the story of ten Indian tribes who have been living lives very different-far away from or even within the same physical spaces-from the rest of mainstream India. Their histories have seldom been told. These tribes are . . . The Halakkis The Kanjars The Konyak Nagas The Changpas The Alu Kurumbas The Khasis The Hill Marias The Jarawas The Meos The Bhils Nidhi Dugar Kundalia traces the origins and explores the daily lives, customs and challenges of some of the many tribes who share the country with us.
This book talks about ten Indian languages—of the thousand-odd languages spoken in India—and their evolution, transformation and development. These languages are: Tamil Telugu Brahui Santali Khasi Kokborok Manipuri Marathi Punjabi Hindi Karthik Venkatesh traces the long and varied journeys of these languages through time, examining the cultural shifts and political and social influences that have shaped them. He provides a glimpse of their literature, tracks the growth of their scripts and identifies landmark moments that have preserved and reinvented these ten Indian languages.
This book explores the lives and achievements of ten Indian scientists who made remarkable contributions in various fields of science—from measuring the brightness of stars and discovering a treatment for cholera to inventing fibre optics and increasing food sustainability. Though their names and work may not be widely known, they have transformed the quality of our lives. They are . . . Ruchi Ram Sahni Meghnad Saha Yellapragada Subbarow Sambhu Nath De Narinder Singh Kapany Obaid Siddiqi Modadugu Vijay Gupta Chandrima Shaha Jagannathan Vijaya V.R. Lalithambika Vaishali Shroff traces the journey of these scientists, detailing the challenges they faced—financial scarcity, gender bias, inadequate facilities and infrastructure—as she takes us through the evolution of science in India over three centuries.
A study that uncovers the lost history of the Comanches shows in detail how the Comanches built their unique empire and resisted European colonization, and why they were defeated in 1875.
*Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award* *A New York Times Notable Book* *Winner of the Texas Book Award and the Oklahoma Book Award* This New York Times bestseller and stunning historical account of the forty-year battle between Comanche Indians and white settlers for control of the American West “is nothing short of a revelation…will leave dust and blood on your jeans” (The New York Times Book Review). Empire of the Summer Moon spans two astonishing stories. The first traces the rise and fall of the Comanches, the most powerful Indian tribe in American history. The second entails one of the most remarkable narratives ever to come out of the Old West: the epic saga of the pioneer woman Cynthia Ann Parker and her mixed-blood son Quanah, who became the last and greatest chief of the Comanches. Although readers may be more familiar with the tribal names Apache and Sioux, it was in fact the legendary fighting ability of the Comanches that determined when the American West opened up. Comanche boys became adept bareback riders by age six; full Comanche braves were considered the best horsemen who ever rode. They were so masterful at war and so skillful with their arrows and lances that they stopped the northern drive of colonial Spain from Mexico and halted the French expansion westward from Louisiana. White settlers arriving in Texas from the eastern United States were surprised to find the frontier being rolled backward by Comanches incensed by the invasion of their tribal lands. The war with the Comanches lasted four decades, in effect holding up the development of the new American nation. Gwynne’s exhilarating account delivers a sweeping narrative that encompasses Spanish colonialism, the Civil War, the destruction of the buffalo herds, and the arrival of the railroads, and the amazing story of Cynthia Ann Parker and her son Quanah—a historical feast for anyone interested in how the United States came into being. Hailed by critics, S. C. Gwynne’s account of these events is meticulously researched, intellectually provocative, and, above all, thrillingly told. Empire of the Summer Moon announces him as a major new writer of American history.
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the author of Ghost Soldiers comes an eye-opening history of the American conquest of the West—"a story full of authority and color, truth and prophecy" (The New York Times Book Review). In the summer of 1846, the Army of the West marched through Santa Fe, en route to invade and occupy the Western territories claimed by Mexico. Fueled by the new ideology of “Manifest Destiny,” this land grab would lead to a decades-long battle between the United States and the Navajos, the fiercely resistant rulers of a huge swath of mountainous desert wilderness. At the center of this sweeping tale is Kit Carson, the trapper, scout, and soldier whose adventures made him a legend. Sides shows us how this illiterate mountain man understood and respected the Western tribes better than any other American, yet willingly followed orders that would ultimately devastate the Navajo nation. Rich in detail and spanning more than three decades, this is an essential addition to our understanding of how the West was really won.
