If you've ever wondered how small countries in Europe managed to subjugate and colonize the vast expanse of India, William Dalrymple has the answers.
He looked into the workings of the East India Company--the British one, not the Dutch one--and found a lot to write about.
The story is told in Dalrymple's book The Anarchy: The East India Company, Corporate Violence, and the Pillage of an Empire. The book details how a huge land mass, its people, and its resources were put under the control of a corporation owned by people who had never been to India and really didn't know much about it.
Other than how much money they made from it. William Dalrymple, himself a resident of India, visits with an overview of a very big story.