This book was GREAT. It's amazing that the ancient history of the subcontinent really was completely uncertain until the last five years, with 2014-2020 opening up a whole new world of understanding thanks to the sequencing of ancient DNA.

Considering how much political weight the facts presented in this book carry, Joseph does a brilliant job of keeping the book limited to the science. At least until the Epilogue, in which he gets a little emotional about the unproductive nature of the current climate's divisive politics. This is understandable, though, given the amount of research has put into his findings — which identify, quite clearly, the mega-melting-pot nature of Indian genetics over a period of tens of thousands of years.

Super fun history and science told vividly — but without embellishment. Strongly recommend.