# What are good books to introduce yourself to Asian and African history?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-good-books-to-introduce-yourself-to-asian-and-african-history/635947>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [September 27, 2012, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-good-books-to-introduce-yourself-to-asian-and-african-history/635947 "2012-09-27T00:54:06Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![spunkymuzicnote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@spunkymuzicnote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spunkymuzicnote)\
**Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-good-books-to-introduce-yourself-to-asian-and-african-history/635947/1 "2012-09-27T00:54:06Z")

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I have a lot of knowledge about United States and European history, as well as some about Central and South America, but I know absolutely nothing of Asian and African history. I’d like to rectify this and would love suggestions of some interesting books to read. Thanks in advance!

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**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\
**Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-good-books-to-introduce-yourself-to-asian-and-african-history/635947/2 "2012-09-27T01:29:13Z")

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I read _India After Gandhi: The History of the World’s Largest Democracy_ by Ramachandra Guha a few years back. It’s an excellent general history of modern India.

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**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\
**Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-good-books-to-introduce-yourself-to-asian-and-african-history/635947/3 "2012-09-27T01:35:04Z")

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Another suggestion. I read _The Siege of Mecca: The Forgotten Uprising in Islam’s Holiest Shrine and the Birth of al-Qaeda_ by Yaroslav Trofimov earlier this year. Another excellent book. More limited in its scope but it contains a lot of information about Saudi politics as background to its recounting of the capture of the Grand Mosque in 1979.