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Edward Luce’s In Spite of the Gods is an analytical book that examines the current state of affairs in India on a global scale. It tries to explain how India manages to hang on to the old world while still embracing the new. Summary of the Book India is being lauded for its rising economic power and its image as the world’s largest democracy. However, it is also being criticized for the large percentage of illiteracy and the rampant poverty and unemployment. Edward Luce travels across India’s numerous regions, cultures and religious circles to understand what is holding it back. He tries to find what manages to keep the fragile balance between tradition and progress intact. He relates how he met religious gurus, politicians and villagers to understand their points of view and the problems they face. Despite India’s vast population, it has failed in actualizing its labour force, and Edward Luce explains how the education system continues to hinder this progress. Readers will understand much about India’s place in recent events and the expectations it has garnered so far in an international setting. About Edward Luce Edward Luce is an American columnist and the Financial Times chief US commentator. A former reporter for the Financial Times from the Philippines. During the Clinton administration, he has also worked as the speechwriter to Lawrence Summers, the US treasury secretary from 1999 to 2001. Luce is a graduate of New College, Oxford, and pursued his postgraduate diploma in newspaper journalism at the City University, London. He has also written Time To Start Thinking: America and the Spectre of Decline.