A fascinating new book.—Sudheendra Kulkarni, The Wire

Makes more complete our understanding of the long and radical meeting of East and West in our countries…a book to savor.—Shivshankar Menon, Biblio

Bose is at the top of his game—a brilliant, urgent, and passionate book.—Tim Harper, University of Cambridge

Bose’s book focuses on the history of a group of extraordinary Asian intellectuals who played a seminal role in reviving the idea of Asia as a distinct civilisational zone, with shared values and sensibilities, very different from Europe. The author recounts in a most vivid and readable style the history of the 'intellectual, cultural and political conversations across Asia' among those who 'challenged European colonial domination to dream of the futurism of young Asia'…the importance of Bose’s rigorously researched book lies in the pioneering exploration of the literary and artistic streams which flowed back and forth in the Asian space…This is an important book for anyone interested in the future of Asia.—Shyam Saran, The Tribune

A heartfelt and thought-provoking book by a distinguished scholar of South Asian and Indian
Ocean history…Bose emphasizes that for many Asians, the continent of Asia was far more than a mere product of western cartographic invention. Instead, it was a creative space infused with emotion. In other words, this book is about how, if Europeans imagined Asia as a space—a cartographic invention—many Asian intellectuals imagined it as a place.

—Gaurav C. Garg, American Historical Review

Rarely would one read a history of thought and one of an evolving continental identity as exciting as [this].—Subhir Bhaumik, Eurasia Review

Redefines Asia’s modern historical role, foregrounding its intellectual and political agency
while challenging entrenched Eurocentric narratives…a landmark contribution to transnational intellectual history [that]…not only enriches our understanding of Asia’s past but also offers a compelling framework for rethinking its future.

—Stefan Messingschlager, Global Intellectual History

A trenchant, capacious, and moving feast of historical interpretation. Drawing on the full breadth of insights from a distinguished career studying Asia’s interconnected past, Sugata Bose illuminates ways to a more plural and inclusive Asian future.—Sunil Amrith, Yale University

In this enthralling intellectual history of a continent, Bose breaks out of European referents to focus on the mobility of Asian people, ideas, and imaginaries. A pathbreaking foray into the making of modern Asia.—Seema Alavi, Ashoka University

This is a deeply felt and carefully argued book. Sugata Bose captures the hopes and misjudgments of generations of Asian thinkers. He makes us wonder if the US-led international system based on sovereign nation-states and the new nationalisms that this system produced might have lured Asia too far for its alternative forms of universalism to succeed. Highly recommended.—Wang Gungwu, National University of Singapore

A brilliant history of continental connections which offers vital lessons for Asia’s shared future.—Amartya Sen, Harvard University