The Anarchy
The Anarchy by William Dalrympleby William Dalrymple
Shares rank 28 of 51 history books by recommenders
A focused, readable history of how the East India Company rose to power in India, recommended as an intro to the 18th century and a counterweight to imperial nostalgia.
A focused, readable history of how the East India Company rose to power in India, recommended as an intro to the 18th century and a counterweight to imperial nostalgia.
4 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 4
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 4 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Readable history of British India
“I enjoyed "The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company" by Dalrymple, which has a specific focus, but conveys a fascinating history of British involvement with India.”
Comment from 29 Apr 2026 in “Talkie: a 13B vintage language model from 1930” Good intro to 18th century
“it was a great intro to the 18th century and how it made the ground fertile for upcoming colonial period”
Comment from 14 Jul 2026 in “An Englishwoman who sketched India before photography took hold” Offers view beyond imperial apologists
“a perspective other than imperial apologists and colonial nostalgics”
Comment from 14 Jul 2026 in “An Englishwoman who sketched India before photography took hold” Changed view of colonisation
“it changed my view of the colonisation of India”
Comment from 15 Jul 2026 in “An Englishwoman who sketched India before photography took hold”
Other history books people recommend
The four most recommended other history books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Dawn of Everythingby David Graeber and David Wengrow | 23 | 5 | 82% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Cadillac Desertby Marc Reisner | 18 | 0 | 100% | 11 | — | Approved |
| The Boxby Marc Levinson | 16 | 0 | 100% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Sapiensby Yuval Noah Harari | 13 | 9 | 59% | 8 | — | — |
| The Anarchyby William DalrympleThis page | 4 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
All 4 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“it changed my view of the colonisation of India”
“a perspective other than imperial apologists and colonial nostalgics”
“it was a great intro to the 18th century and how it made the ground fertile for upcoming colonial period”
“I enjoyed "The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company" by Dalrymple, which has a specific focus, but conveys a fascinating history of British involvement with India.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.