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Students and scholars of Bangladesh have been waiting a long time for this book, and the wait has been worth it. The last comprehensive introductory texts on Bangladesh were produced in the 1970s and 1980s,1 and none of them can compare with the accessible quality of van Schendel's work. The main body of the text--22 chapters in 269 pages--covers all of Bangladeshi history, from the Mughal period until 2007, and it is explained with rich and interesting detail that has been culled from the author's own in-country experiences, complemented by current scholarship. In addition, there are many aids to help the reader: a timeline, 12 maps, 2 figures, 104 plates, a list of 21 key political figures, a glossary, and 31 human-interest "boxes" interspersed in the text, featuring people, wildlife, art, the Bengali script, bridges, and even sweets.
The book is structured around three types of historical process: 1) The first four chapters cover the forces of nature that have constructed Bangladesh as an active delta, a moving frontier, or an open crossroads -with the resultant flexible urbanization and an inherently unstable and yet creative mix of cultural, political, religious, and linguistic identities. 2) The second eleven chapters survey Bangladesh's colonial encounters, with the Mughals until...