Luce, Edward 1968-

PERSONAL:

Born 1968. Education: Oxford University, graduated 1990; City University in London, postgraduate degree, 1993.

CAREER:

Journalist and writer. U.S. Department of Treasury, Washington, DC, speech writer for Larry Summers, 1999-2001; Financial Times, London, England, Washington bureau chief, 2006—, former South Asia bureau chief, Philippines correspondent and capital markets editor. Previously, Geneva-based correspondent for the Guardian, London, England.

WRITINGS:

In Spite of the Gods: The Strange Rise of Modern India, Little, Brown (London, England), 2006, Doubleday (New York, NY), 2007.

SIDELIGHTS:

In his first book, In Spite of the Gods: The Strange Rise of Modern India, journalist Edward Luce, who worked as the South Asia bureau chief for London's Financial Times, writes about the burgeoning Indian economy in the twenty-first century. The author explores the dark side of this economy, which includes widespread corruption and a nation that still has not been able to reduce its extremely high poverty and illiteracy rates. In addition to writing about various social aspects of Indian culture, the author examines the role the United States has played in supporting India, partly because the U.S. government perceives India as a counterbalance to China's dominance in the region.

Reviewers commended Luce for an in-depth and accurately researched report on modern India. "This lively account … sets a high standard for breadth, clarity and discernment," wrote a Publishers Weekly contributor. Referring to the book as "an introspective study of the realities of modern India," Uma Doraiswamy also wrote in the Library Journal: "Luce has produced a book as diversely focused as India itself." Other reviewers noted that the book reflects a keen appreciation of India for a foreign writer. Writing in Time International, Aravind Adiga noted: "For the most part … In Spite of the Gods: The Strange Rise of Modern India is an exceptional book, and that's because its author is unusual: he's a foreigner who gets India."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, January 1, 2007, Gilbert Taylor, review of In Spite of the Gods: The Strange Rise of Modern India, p. 46.

Business Week, February 12, 2007, review of In Spite of the Gods, p. 102.

Economist, August 26, 2006, review of In Spite of the Gods, p. 67.

Far Eastern Economic Review, November, 2006, Ed Lane, review of In Spite of the Gods, p. 67.

Kirkus Reviews, October 15, 2006, review of In Spite of the Gods, p. 1059.

Library Journal, January 1, 2007, Uma Doraiswamy, review of In Spite of the Gods, p. 126.

New Statesman, September 25, 2006, David Gilmour, review of In Spite of the Gods, p. 77.

Newsweek International, February 26, 2007, Sumit Ganguly, review of In Spite of the Gods.

New York Times Book Review, February 4, 2007, Ben MacIntyre, review of In Spite of the Gods.

Observer (London, England), August 20, 2006, Soumya Bhattacharya, review of In Spite of the Gods.

Publishers Weekly, November 6, 2006, review of In Spite of the Gods, p. 51.

Time International, November 27, 2006, Aravind Adiga, review of In Spite of the Gods, p. 49.

Times Higher Education Supplement, September 1, 2006, Radhakrishnan Nayar, review of In Spite of the Gods, p. 22.

ONLINE

Carnegie Council—The Voice for Ethics in International Policy,http://www.cceia.org/ (May 21, 2007), brief profile of author.

Globalist,http://www.theglobalist.com/ (May 21, 2007), brief profile of author.

Jabberwock,http://jaiarjun.blogspot.com/ (September 9, 2006), review of In Spite of the Gods.