Hicky's Bengal Gazette: The Untold Story of India's First Newspaper Hardcover – 27 May 2018

I must say it is a very well researched book. I can only guess how much trouble the author has taken to find those letters that are printed in the book, which makes it an excellent read. In every chapter there are series of letters written by the characters of the book. One thing I learnt after reading the book is, the fight for freedom of press is not only being fought today but it also happened during mid and late 1700s. As you continue to read the book, you will get to how much pain and trouble the founder of India's first newspaper had gone thru to not only save himself but also the freedom of press.

This is an wonderful book about an important but largely not so known part of India's history namely- India's 1st newspaper.The author build the story nicely with the character sketches of main cast and the prevalent era at that time in Calcutta- when British were on the verge of establishing their empire in India. The reader is definitely 'carried' to the era which provides a great context to the story.As the author says, information has always been disseminated through the ages in India but before Hicky's Bengal Gazette crystallized the same in the modern way of mass distribution i.e. through a newspaper.The author provides a balanced perspective of all the characters in the way they are, and also considering the behavioral acceptance of that era which would obviously be different from the modern era.The author's research is quite rigorous and the references noted are exhaustive, provisioning the authentic nature of the book. It is also great to see the images of the newspaper itself and some of the main characters (unfortunately as the author says none survive of James Hicky himself), which really brings the story of life.A delightful read for all who are curious about the history of India's 1st newspaper!

I am an avid aficionado of Colonial Calcutta and yet I had no idea about James Hickey. One of the few Englishmen who really connected with the Indian commoners and fought for their rights, Hickey can arguably be said to be the father of print media in all of Asia.Andrew Otis has done an exceptional job of bringing to life Hickey's struggles and his fight to the last breath. This is a must read book for those who like reading about history and would like to discover how the print media came to be. You will be surprised to find out that the challenges of media back in the days of the British really haven't changed much.All in all, an engaging read for those who are interested in history!!

Lucid prose writing style, exciting presentation and off course, meticulous research - all makes this book a perfect product over which you could lose your mind!

Dear Andrews,I have read your book, and it was intriguing...and tells that you have done extensive research and put your heart in to this.The content is really good and the last para of your book which is the conclusion is extremely good specially in present context.But I would have definitely loved to see the pictures of Hickey, the first foreigner to disrupt British Raj.

Good Book with simple English and great details on the subject.

Beautiful book depicting events of forgotten era. Wonderful pictures. Nice Print.GOOD PAPER, VERY GOOD BINDING, WONDERFUL DELIVERY. Thank You Amazon.

I LIKE SIMPLE THINGS SO IN A SINGE WORD ITS LIKE A LIMITED EDITION BOOK. IF U WANT 2 KNOW THE CALCUTTA AND BENGAL DURING THE RAJ THEN THIS ONE WILL DEFINITELY FULFILL YOUR EXPECTATIONS............. I READ RAJ THE MAKING & UNMAKING OF BRITISH INDIA ALONG WITH THIS ONE JUST MARVELLOUS. GRAB IT 👍