The Story of Indian Business: The East India Company: The World's Most Powerful Corporation

The East India Company helped shape modern international business. This book gives the reader a good basis and appreciation for that company's efforts.

I have listened to several histories involving the British Raj and its precursor the East India Company so I was intrigued to hear a history of the Company from an Indian point of view. Unfortunately somehow the colourful history was blanded down to the colour of dust and ashes, the narrator spoke in a monotone and made the history monotonous.

I severe disappointment but luckily was only a few hours long. I did hear it to the end as I wanted to hear about the Mutiny but it was glossed over.

Not recommended except to prospective producers of talking books on how not to produce a book and how not to narrate.

This book was both more and less than I expected. More in that the views presented were combined from a plethora of sources of Hindustani origin, and less in that I expected it to cover the Sovereign Rule of India too. It takes you right up to that point and that's where this story ends. I can't complain though as the title makes it clear what it does and does not cover!

This book is very well balanced and tells the history of the Company from the point of view of it's merchants, Indian Traders and Kings. It's told more from the perspective of the effect the company had on India and Great Britain and makes it quite clear that there wasn't really a driving force or goals being the Company any different from any other company i.e. to make money. The fact that Hindustanis adopted british law as defined by Company contracts is a quirk of the relationship not a master plan by the UK to rule India.

I thoroughly enjoyed this broad and insightful book and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.