Annemarie Schimmel was a well known and very influential German Orientalist and scholar, who wrote extensively on Islam and Sufism. She was a professor at Harvard University from 1967 to 1992. This is a pretty comprehensive review of the history of Islam in the subcontinent. Schimmel covers everything from the time of the early Arabian expeditions into Sindh all the way to post-colonial Islamist movements. Although not surprising given Schimmel’s background as a scholar of Sufism, the author does focus on the role Sufi orders and Sufi thought played in the molding of the unique expression of Islam found in the subcontinent. It is undeniable that Sufi orders played/play a huge part in how people practice and express their faith, however I believe the level of detail provided in the book about them is somewhat distracting and can get confusing. Overall, a good primer and a source of more readings on the topic.