Nepal is on the threshold of a new era. A new Constitution vesting sovereignty in the people has come into being, first election to House of Representatives held and duly elected government has assumed office. A fresh wind is blowing across the land and all eyes are on the vision of a new and brighter future. What then is the relevance of a new book?on?ancient?and?medieval?Nepal?at?this?point?of?time? It is precisely at this juncture that a nation must ask itself: Who are we? Where have we come from? and where are we going? No viable answer can be given to the third question without some reflection on the first two. Failure to root the new order in the culture and tradition of the nation will produce a bewildered society, people who have lost their mooring?and?don’t?know?where?they?are?going. The above questions furnish an appropriate answer to the question ‘what then is the relevance of a new book on ancient and medieval Nepal’?at?this?point?of?time. Rishikesh Shaha is well qualified to undertake such a study. Having published Modem Nepal: A Political History 1769-1955 and Politics in Nepal 198-1991; Referendum Stalemate and Triumph of People Power, Prof. Shaha now goes back and presents us Ancient and Medieval Nepal, thus covering the history of the nation from the earliest times?to?the?modern?period. The work includes the latest scholarship on the subject and would, it is hoped, be of use not only to those who must now shape the destiny of Nepal but also to those who love the land and long to know more about its?people.