Review [untitled]

This is an unusual book, not least because it delivers far more than it initially promises. What appears at first sight to be a discussion of the tools of empire, in this case intelligence and surveillance of their Indian subjects by the British, is in fact a wide-ranging and subtle exploration of systems of knowledge and how these affect, and are affected by, the relations between rulers and ruled. Writing with an unrivaled familiarity with the sources and a firm grip on recent theory, C. A. Bayly has produced a fascinating study that marries social, material, and intellectual history and that has implications far beyond this particular period in Indian history.