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I realize you asked this a while ago, but in case you are still interested, I would recommend Advaita Epistemology and Metaphysics: An Outline of Indian Non-Realism by Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad.

It is not quite like Siderits' text. It is not a sweeping overview of the history of Advaita philosophy the way that text is for Buddhism, but just focuses on a narrow set of questions and a select group of philosophers (just Shankara, Vacaspati Mishra, and Sri-harsha). Nonetheless, it is a rewarding read and presents a philosophically interesting account and defense of some core ideas of advaita. It is also a more modern text by a respected contemporary scholar, whereas Deutsch and Potter while undoubtedly excellent works of scholarship have become a bit dated as our understanding of the history of classical philosophy has matured.

The other work I would recommend is: Philosophy and Argument in Late Vedanta: Sri Harsa's Khandanakhandakhadya by PE Granoff. This is actually a primary source and is therefore not as good as a reference work. However, if what you want is a rigorous philosophical defense of Advaita this is one of the best. The text is a translation of the first part of Sriharsha's masterwork with an excellent running commentary in English by Granoff. It is a very demanding work but is just as rewarding.

Sriharsha's approach to Advaita is a bit unorthodox and has been somewhat marginalized in the history of Advaita's development, nonetheless this text is universally recognized as one of the most influential works in late classical Indian philosophy. It was one of the few texts in Indian philosophy to receive extensive commentaries not just by other Advaitins but also by rival philosophers (primarily navya nayyayikas) seeking to refute it. Indeed, it is often thought that Navya Nyaya was born out of an attempt to save Old Nyaya from Sri Harsha. It's also seeing something of a revival these days in western academic circles.

Amazon links to the books I mention:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00GHJHBKU/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=&sr=

https://www.amazon.com/Philosophy-Argument-Late-Ved%C4%81nta-Kha%E1%B9%87%E1%B8%8Danakha%E1%B9%87%E1%B8%8Dakh%C4%81dya/dp/9400998244

Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
http://www.amazon.com/Siddhartha-Hermann-Hesse/dp/081120068X/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1377155668&sr=1-8&keywords=Siddhartha

Fictional life story of Siddhartha, a contemporary of Guatama Buddha. This is a story of a man seeking spiritual truth through sensual and worldly experience, ultimately achieving similar spiritual heights to the Buddha, yet by a path that many of us might find much more familiar and relatable than a life of renunciation. Beautifully written, poetic, mystical and almost fairy-tale-like in tone. Some of Herman Hesse's finest work.


Be Here Now by Ram Dass
http://www.amazon.com/Be-Here-Now-Ram-Dass/dp/0517543052/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1377155603&sr=1-1&keywords=be+here+now

Autobiographical, blissed-out, art-infused, eloquent and insightful rant about a journey that begins with the Harvard psychology department's early LSD research and culminates in a journey through the Himalayas leading to deep transformation with the help of a wandering mystic and an epic guru. Ram Dass beautifully weds the best parts of hippy and psychedelic culture with the ancient truths of hinduism, vedanta and yoga. The annotated reading list at the back is a treasure trove of eastern awesomeness.


The Tao of Physics by Fritjof Capra
http://www.amazon.com/The-Tao-Physics-Exploration-Parallels/dp/1590308352

Honestly the best introduction/summary I've read of several schools of Eastern Thought. The book is intended to show parallels between ancient spiritual truths and scientific principles discovered in quantum physics. Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Hinduism, Zen (and I think a couple more) get meaty, well written and well researched treatments by Capra, and curious minds benefit from having all this info in one spot. Capra gives in-depth focus to each tradition and highlights the similarities and differences of each path. Awesome graphics too. Highly recommend to any western mind wanting to encounter eastern thought.

Namaste!

edit: grammar

Issues:

1. I'm almost positive that no one actually knows whether or not Laozi was a real person. There are some historical sources that might be accurate, but they are almost impossible to verify. I can give you a bit of information if you want, but the point is that it doesn't really matter whether you put Kongzi first or Laozi first, because no one can say with any certainty who came first.
   
   
2. Mitchell's translation can be best described as garbage. He's popular in the same way that New Age spiritualism is popular, which is to say, it's entirely non-academic or scholarly (or even accurate for that matter. The guy doesn't speak or read a word of Chinese, so the thought that he could translate anything Chinese is laughable). I think the best translation of the TTC is Philip J. Ivanhoe's translation here.
   
   
3. I'll look into some if you'd like. I'm very busy, so it might take a while, but I'd gladly help in any way.

I liked the very short introduction to Indian philosophy (http://www.amazon.com/Indian-Philosophy-Very-Short-Introduction/dp/0192853740/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1420386854&sr=1-1&keywords=indian+philosophy+very+short).


I noticed there is one for Confucianism that may also be good (http://www.amazon.com/Confucianism-Very-Short-Introduction-Introductions/dp/0195398912/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1420386854&sr=1-2&keywords=indian+philosophy+very+short).


I like these books because they're a good place to start, and all of them have good bibliography / further reading sections at the end.

I am a former grad student who studied Sanskrit and the Bhagavad Giitaa to some extent, I'm sorry to say that there is no "best" translation. Translations are written either by academics or Indian Pandits (religious scholars) and each translator injects bias into the translation. That is not bad, just the way it is.

Any text that exists from the Christian Bible to written laws to my comment here to the Bhagavad Giitaa are all subject to individual interpretation and understanding based on their own life context. This is called hermeneutics.

First, the biggest favor you can do for yourself is use your Google-fu and get a basic familiarity with the Sanskrit language in terms of the alphabet as rendered in the familiar Roman script that we are using here. By studying and practicing the pronunciation of the vowels and consonants and memorizing verses you like you will be able to recite verses in the Sanskrit language. Recitation from text and later from memory is the fundamental practice for studying in the traditional manner.

Check this recite along out and see if it works for you:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHI4kPvFv1A

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhagavad_Gita

This is a lovely rendering of a commentary on the Giitaa - lovely on account of the vivid imagery used.

https://www.amazon.com/Jnaneshwars-Gita-Jnaneshwari-Swami-Kripananda/dp/0911307648

https://www.amazon.com/Bhagavad-Gita-Song-God-Swami-Prabhavananda/dp/0451528441/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0451528441&pd_rd_r=KV9FPE1E4EVJSA663SGG&pd_rd_w=8ga9Q&pd_rd_wg=pL3W7&psc=1&refRID=KV9FPE1E4EVJSA663SGG

Jay Garfield's translation and commentary on Nagarjuna's Mulamadhyamakakarika (The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way) is both an excellent translation and moreover demonstrates one way how to build a rigorously thought out bridge between Western and Eastern philosophies.

Adding to this: Radakrishnan and Moore's Sourcebook in Indian Philosophy is a good introductory overview book.

Buddhism as Philosophy- Mark Siderits.

It's a great introduction to Buddhist philosophy. It goes through all the major divisions of philosophy, metaphysics, ethics, epistemology, etc., and nicely links the religious doctrines to the philosophical beliefs.

I always recommend Victoria S. Harrison's Eastern Philosophy: The Basics. It's one of the best introductions to Chinese and Indian thought that I know of. It's presented topically rather than historically, but it explains major ideas clearly and concisely without sacrificing too much depth and detail.

Speaking as an academic, I've found Siderits lacking, for Buddhist philosophy.
Instead I would highly recommend two books by Paul Williams. Buddhist Thought for an overview of Indian Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism to supplement it. Together they give an amazing overview of Buddhist thought.

Hey, /u/Apiperofhades. I read your /r/AskPhilosophy post so I'll suggest books based on the following:

>I'm more interested in academic historical work on doctrine and practices and so on.

/r/Buddhism's most famous academic (who recently passed away), /u/michael_dorfman, recommended Rupert Gethin's The Foundations of Buddhism and Peter Harvey's An Introduction to Buddhism religiously, "to get a basic understanding of Buddhist doctrine".

Additionally, you may wish to consider chapter 5 of Surendranath Dasgupta's A History of Indian Philosophy, Volume 1, titled 'Buddhist Philosophy' (all five volumes can be found here on Internet Archive; the first alone here on Project Gutenberg), and chapter 5 (and, perhaps, 9) of Mysore Hiriyanna's Outlines of Indian Philosophy, titled 'Early Buddhism' (and 'Later Buddhistic Schools'). This book can be found here on Internet Archive.

This seems to be a good one: Japanese Philosophy (Blocker and Starling): http://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Philosophy-H-Gene-Blocker/dp/0791450201

https://www.amazon.com/Shape-Ancient-Thought-Comparative-Philosophies/dp/1581152035


Highly recommended!

It looks like this is the companion book to their Pre-Qin book, which I used to teach an intro class on classical Chinese philosophy. That book is the most complete/convenient book on Warring States thought, so it looks like this would fulfill the same need with Dynastic thought. Although, based on the table of contents, it doesn't look like the 20th century chapter would be that complete or critical of the CCP.