Ainslie T. Embree

It's a little commentary, but mostly primary source documents, which are indispensable when researching. Unfortunately, it makes for pretty dry reading when going through the parts you're not too interested in. As a source of information for Indian history, though, it's great!

Interesting commentary and review of the Vedas, gods, etc... nice introduction to the religion.

This is a collection of short, selected snippets from various texts associated with hinduism, ranging from the earliest Vedas to Gandhi. The editor's introductions for the different chapters provide a short cultural history of India, but I thought the readings were a bit too short and fragmented to give much insight into hindu beliefs. However, I still think this is a useful book if you're looking for a short introduction to hinduism.

Since 1958, Sources of Indian Tradition has been one of the most important and widely used texts on civilization in South Asia. It has helped generations of students and general readers understand how leading thinkers there have looked at life, the traditions of their ancestors, and the world they lived in.