The Grand Rebel

"The Grand Rebel: An impression of Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha Empire" is Dennis Kincaid's love story for his personal hero. He pieced this book from compilations of folk tales, Marathi books, songs and poems. While most of the book is accurate, he seems to exaggerate Shivaji's political influence and resorts to referring to him as India's first Hindu king (a tagline also used for other kings like Prithviraj Chauhan). In the book, Dennis Kincaid portrays the traders of the East India company as righteous and ever helping whose sole purpose in India was to trade. Not sure if the irony dawned on him as a civil servant administering the Indian colony some 300 years later.