Vincent A. Smith. Asoka: The buddist emperor of İndia. Delhi, LP Publications, 1994.

This book contains biography and the administration of prominent Indian emperor Asoka of the Maurya dynasty. Asoka, a son of Bindusara and the third sovereign of the Maurya dynasty ascended the throne of Pataliputra (BC 273) and undertook the government of the Indian empire. He held the government for forty years. The numerous inscriptions recorded by Asoka are the leading authority for the events of his reign and his administration. Tradition probably is right in stating that Asoka followed the religion of the Brahmans in his early days, with a special devotion to Lord Siva. But the horrors of the Kalinga war made a deep impression on the heart of the victorious monarch. Once he had begun to devote himself to the love, protection and teaching of the Law of Piety or Dharma, he never again allowed himself to be tempted by ambition into an unprovoked war. The Kalinga conflict was his last war.