This book is not just about the end of Maratha power in India, but also covers the background before the decline started, as well as the process itself, which was not a sudden event but which took years and decades to manifest itself. Maratha power evokes the magnetism and personality of that great warrior and statesman, Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj. This book is not about him, but with a view to cover the rise and not just the fall of Maratha power, the author has briefly touched on the appearance of Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj on the scene, as well as the immediate period after his demise. However, the book essentially focuses on the history of the Marathas after Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj had left the scene. The Marathas were the predecessors of the British in India and their decline and fall is a sorry tale indeed. If the Maratha power had not disintegrated, it is more than likely that the history of the subcontinent would have taken a different turn.