The Bangladesh Reader

“This revelatory volume brings alive Bangladesh’s tormented history and vibrant culture through a selection of excerpts and illustrations from works of history, journalism, literature, and visual art.”

“Here are the key reasons I found the volume very useful: (a) before this, the history of Bangladesh was a mere appendage to what happened in India and later Pakistan. Its politics was looked at as a mere response to the stimuli provided by India and Pakistan. This book is the first attempt on a grand scale to make the history and politics of Bangladesh stand on its own feet, (b) it is as wide as it is deep. It is wide in the sense that it covers the entire history of this nation from the ancient times until today.”

“This is a unique, impressive and imaginative approach to compiling a volume of this nature. . . . Does The Bangladesh Reader fulfill and even exceed our expectations at times? Insofar as it is possible to compile a general text on the eighth most populous nation on earth, the answer is an emphatic yes.'

“The essays, stories, reports, documents, photographs and cartoons in this volume offer an escape from the stereotypes and a real encounter with the country and its people. The way the editors have ensured this is remarkably refreshing. The result is more rewarding than dry academic research or journalistic simplifications.”

“The latest addition to Duke University Press’ World Readers series is a gem. It offers both general readers and specialists an unprecedented and much-needed array of information, voices, images and perspectives on Bangladesh’s history, politics and culture. . . . Overall, this is a hugely impressive feat of scholarship for which the two editors should be congratulated.”

"The Reader is exceptional because of the eyes of the editors for details of everyday life and the pot-pourri nature of the entries. ...The two distinguished scholars compile the rich narratives with an eye for the ordinary. It is this subaltern view that gives the Reader its distinctive character. While other compilers look for the contributions of the most scholarly and the well-known writers, the Reader provides voices to the voiceless, it gives them a rightful place, and they remain not in the margin, but in the mainstream. The weaving of the illustrations, reports, stories and scholarly pieces produce a compendium that should be a mandatory reading for anyone interested in understanding where and how Bangladesh came from. The innovative style of this compendium is of great value and the Reader sets a standard for inclusivity."