Originally published during the early part of the twentieth century, the Cambridge Manuals of Science and Literature were designed to provide concise introductions to a broad range of topics. They were written by experts for the general reader and combined a comprehensive approach to knowledge with an emphasis on accessibility. The Peoples of India by J. D. Anderson was first published in 1913. Anderson drew from previous scholarship as well as his own research to present a summary examination of the ethnology and caste system, the languages and the religions of India.