THIS book claims to trace out important activities of all personalities of the 18th and 19thcenturies. The author has tried to include the acts of personalities who were "kings and generals of their times". However, going through the book only confuses the reader.
Rattan Amol Singh fails to enlighten the reader on why he has chosen a particular personality. While writing about Raja Surat Singh of Bikaner, in about a hundred words he lists not only his achievements
but also his entire life. The reader does not know whether he was with the British or sympathetic to the neighbouring states. If on one side the author claims that Raja Surat Singh helped the Maharaja of Jaipur,
he also writes that there was a revolt in his state. The concluding remarks are that the ruler was "a doughty, active, gentle and an able diplomat". Why gentle`85 and how an able diplomat?
The appendices are well written, especially the one titled Glorious Centuries of European Adventurers, which talks about the foreigners coming to India to make a fortune. The book would have been a treat toread , if the facts had not been put forth so abruptly. With the amount of research put in, a better book could have been written. There are several mistakes in the book, especially in the Bibliography section, where they are glaring.