Book Log 2008 #23: In Spite of the Gods by Edward Luce

With all the focus recently on the growing economic clout of China, I was interested to delve into this book, which examines similar growth - and the myriad challenges to it - in India. The book starts by looking at India's growth in the tech sector and lack of growth in manufacturing, comparing it to China's more traditional growth path, and then starts to deal with the problems that could derail India's success.

Luce is a long-time India journalist and has married into a local family, so he's able to bring professional and personal perspectives to the issues, which helps to give greater depth to the discussion. Most of the book dwells on the problems, which by the end makes you wonder how India managed to get as far as it has. I wasn't crazy about the ending, which uses four particular issues as measures by which one could chart India's progress (such as how the country will address a growing HIV problem). I'd have appreciated something more conclusive. Even so, this book goes a long way towards explaining modern day India for those of us who only get the occasional piece on the news.