William Dalrymple: The Anarchy; the relentless rise of the East India Company

Remarkable eye-opening story and as much for its prefiguring and mirroring the modern corporate/Government characteristics of today as a vividly realized historical account. Much food for thought...which will gestate over the next few days.

An epic tale and one that is as awe-inspiring as it is deeply disconcerting. In many way the political and social influence the company had almost seemed a by-product of their role. They always remained a business with returns on capital, bonuses for shareholders etc etc always being the main focused kept in mind. The armies, the ability to raise taxes and in some cases have their own currency were all, it seemed to me, a by-product of this one central aim. Being started by a group of wealthy mercantilists, the company, as it grew and grew and lasted and lasted, never essentially changed its nature.

There were many remarkable people involved in this story; all of them in their ways stunningly remarkable even when blatantly corrupt and self-serving. The sort of person though who would go out to India at these times (and the story covers several hundred years) really were exceptional. And I do recall thinking how physically uncomfortable the experience there must have been, given clothing, hygiene and social norms of Europe compared with the Indian subcontinent. And of course the unbelievable goriness and brutality of war. I really think that we honestly have no idea of what it. Must have been like to fight hand-to-hand in such conflicts with all the animals...horses of course but here elephants as well...The strangely flat and static images of such events in the book really give no idea and one can only marvel at the people who did this sort of thing.

The book is wonderfully fluently written...and I was very grateful to have the outlines of the key players at the start that I could refer to as the saga unfolded...almost as glad as when reading a 19th C Russian novel!

Epic story, epically told.