India Books

This was a great purchase! The pictures are wonderful and the biography was very interesting. The only drawback I found was that it was too long and detailed for the audience I was reading to-8-10 year olds. Definitely one of my favorite subjects and will continue to be read in my home!

This is a beautiful book, in words, deeds, and art. The story of Mother Teresa is told in a spirit that is appropriate to the woman herself. The words tell an amazing story simply, just as she lived... telling where she went, how she followed her calling, and how God unfolded miracles in the lives she touched because she was obedient and loving. It is the simplicity of the telling that allows the story to be so powerful. The drawings are authentic to the cultures in which she lives, an artistic feast that is always just right, honest, and beautiful. The story is accessible to children, but is richly satisfying to teens and adults who can enjoy it on another level altogether. It is reverent, loving, and beautiful, like the woman it honors.

This book was awarded one of the top two recognitions for 2006 by the Metro Atlanta Corporate Volunteer Council. This award honors children's books that inspire community service and volunteerism in children.

This was such a wonderful book to read and share, her story is beautifully told and prayers are inspirational. The artwork takes you to a place that brings the emotions of her story to life.

It's not often the words "work of art" and "biography" go together in the same description. In fact I'd have to say that up until recently I was of the general opinion that children's biographies tended to be dull and uninteresting-mostly written for the purpose of providing children with the pedestrian facts they require on research assignments. Authors/ illustrators like Demi have served to change that opinion drastically. And her latest title, Mother Teresa, is a picture book biography that is also a true work of art.

Those readers who already know Demi will immediately recognize her stylistic and vividly colored illustrations in this book. Rich gold ink and brilliant scarlet make the pages come to life with a dramatically Eastern flair. Each illustrated page is a marvelous picture in its own right. Its no wonder Demi is an award-winner illustrator. She's illustrated more than 130 books for children, and her artwork appears not only in books and galleries, but also in the dome of St. Peter and Paul's church in Wilmington. I can only say that she truly brings the biography to life. This picture book account provides young and older audiences alike with the story of Mother Teresa, her mission to help the poor and her influence around the world. While the actual text is fairly brief, due to the format, it provides dates and events highlighting the turning points and important themes of Mother Teresa's life. Added to the text are prayer quotes, biblical quotes and quotes from Mother Teresa herself. These help to break up the life events, and add perspective and beauty to the book.

At the very end of the book, Demi includes a listing of what is necessary for Mother Teresa to be declared a saint as well as a list of awards and honors that she was given in her lifetime. While, as I have said, the format prevents this from being an exhaustive account, it is an excellent introduction to Mother Teresa and the life she lived. The religious and spiritual aspects of the biography are handled with grace and respect without the book becoming preachy or judgmental about how that faith is expressed. And Demi's masterful art pulls the text together to create a wonderful tribute to a woman who had such a profound influence on the world.

This book will probably be a bit complex for younger readers, unless a parent chooses to read it to them. The site recommends this book for ages 4-8, but I would amend that to closer to ages 6-12 with the added suggestion that this is a book that adults can appreciate as well. For more thorough exploration of the subject, readers may want to look for other books, but this is a good starting point. Those of you who enjoy this biography may want to look for Demi's other biographies that include such figures as Gandhi, Muhammad, and Buddha. I don't think you'll be disappointed!

Happy Reading! ^_^ Shanshad

Fran Abbott's first book is remarkable. In this journey she takes you back to her abusive childhood, thru her struggling times as a single mother, and to her purpose in life. This is a remarkable book about a remarkable woman. The largest part of the book is about Frances fighting to adopt a child from India. A must read for those who have adopted and those who plan to adopt. I felt I was fighting right along aside her to bring Kannu home. This book will make you an advocate for adoption and children everywhere.

I found this book difficult to put down and read it in a single evening. Frances Abbott is an engaging writer with important messages for prospective adoptive parents and adoption professionals. With perseverance and love, Abbott and her husband navigated the conviction that their daughter was meant for them. Readers will be emotionally charged as Abbott depicts her family's frustrating trials and ultimately realizes the triumph of bringing her daughter home. Despite the discussion of some difficult and sobering challenges, Abbott's book is absolutely a positive advocate for building a family through adoption.

I just read Frances Abbott's, My Gifts From India. I enjoyed the read and I found it particularly informative when discussing the challenges of adopting from India. In the begining of the book, the author talked about her abusive childhood, which is really not the important part of the story. So just skim this part and get to the real story, about a mother's determination to bring her child home from a state sponsored orphanage in India. Unlike the private orphanges, this orphanage was more like a "concentration camp". June Spearing, RN
(mother of a 10 year old adopted form India in 2002)

This writer is amazing. Her story is real and well written. But the message it sends is important to everyone who inhabits the earth - that what happens to one human being affects all human beings. She knows first hand what abuse and neglect mean to a child, but her journey to rise above it and become an advocate for these children all over the world will forever affect how you think about this subject. After reading this wonderful story in some small way you may never be the same again. Thank you Fran Abbott for sharing your pain and triumphs so thoughtfully.

This book will inspire you to the core! I could not put the book down-it was an absolute page turner. It is not everyday you see someone put into action their beliefs and dreams and make their vision a reality to share with the rest of the world.
This book will definitely change your view on the contraversial issue of adoption, and especially, the view of what makes us a family in todays world.

When you think of an "explorer" you think of a guy like Hedin. From an early age he ventured again and again into large swatches of Asian geography where few or no Europeans had ever trod. Hedin graphically and realistically portrays his travels with such detail that you can feel the cold, the heat, the parched throats, the curious indigenous eyes and the scenery staggering in its beauty. When you come to the end of this book, you will be all "adventured" out, for on almost every page there is a suspenseful, fascinating episode. Hedin was truly an explorer's explorer. His greatness is dimmed, however, by his fervent support of Naziism during WWII. As someone has writen elsewhere, Hedin knew about the death camps and never disavowed them. He was a solid Nazi partisan. In an epilogue to this book, author and admirer Peter Hopkirk urges us to look at Hedin's many and major contributions and to forgive his pro-German activities in both world wars. I'm not quite willing to forgive, but I will segment my views of Hedin into Hedin the explorer and Hedin the Nazi sympathizer. Anyhow,if you're looking for a fascinating book about exploration in the most forbidding sectors of our planet at the turn of the 20th century, this is a book for you.

(This refers to the National Geographic Reprint edition)

This is truly a great book, full of the amazing adventures of an incredible explorer. You have to admire Hedin's determination and stubborness, although sometimes I wonder about his planning. It seems like every trip all his animals die, and the men are on the verge of starvation. And as for his trips in the desert, I would have thought the concept of "take some extra water" would have occured at some point!
Hedin is a fine writer, and his descriptions are not only accessible to the average reader, but often quite poetic as well.
Nevertheless, I only reluctantly give this a full 5 stars, because I feel that National Geographic missed a great opportunity to make this an almost perfect book, and it wouldn't have been that difficult to do. As a previous reviewer mentioned, some good maps could have helped. There's almost no excuse for NG not to have included some decent maps of Central Asia in their edition. Furthermore, one tends to forget (although Hedin mentions in the text), that he also took photographs on many of his travels. These might have been included as well. (To see some, refer to the Photos section of the website of the Sven Hedin Foundation, "http://www.etnografiska.se/hedinweb/htmsidor/organi.htm"). Aside from the simplistic drawings that are included, Hedin also did many detailed sketches and potraits on his travels. Now one can assume that none of these were included in the original, and this is only a reprint, but nevertheless, it is a missed opportunity. The introductory chapter by A.Brandt also adds little insight, and might as well have been left out as well.
However, despite the lost opportunities, this book is highly recommended.

The Swede Sven Hedin was the last great explorer we will see on this well-traveled planet. Hedin was born in 1865 and this autobiography describes his life up until 1908. Hedin's career was hardly finished, however, as he continued to traipse down the old Silk Road in Central Asia until the 1930s when he was 70 years old.

In a happy trait that should be copied by more auto-biographers, Hedin doesn't spend much time on his childhood. By the third page of his narrative he is 20 years old and off to the Caucasus Mountains which only whets his appetite for the little-known peaks and deserts of Tibet and Central Asia. He spent the years between 1893 and 1908 exploring these regions and filling in blank places on the map.

National Geographic's "Traveler" magazine put this book on its list of 100 best adventure books and, truly, the tales of Hedin's adventures make for good, exciting reading. Hedin displays both charm and generosity in his account. He traveled without the company of other Europeans and he enjoyed the companionship of his local helpers and the dogs he adopted along his way. He draws many clever portraits of the people he met in his travels. Hedin, however, was no mere adventurer. He was a serious, sober scholar who produced dozens of scientific studies of his findings.

One of the most hair raising tales in the book concerns Hedin's first expedition into the sands of the Takla Makhan (desert) of China in which he and his companions nearly died of thirst. A second high point of the book is the account of his attempt to visit Lhasa, the forbidden capital of Tibet. He failed after getting nearly to the gates of the city and was denied the honor of becoming the first foreigner to visit Lhasa in half a century. Amidst the plethora of adventures, the stoic Swede brushes over incidents others would consider high -- or low -- points of their lives. "Fever kept me in Kashgar a long while" is his complete description of one serious illness.

The book is illustrated with many of Hedin's drawings, including his hand drawn maps. I suggest that you read the book with a good modern map at hand so as to trace his routes with more precision as his constant tooing-and-froing can be confusing.

Smallchief

This is a tale wonderfully told of an explorer's quest to fill in the blank spots on the map of Asia. Not only does Hedin present a clear and highly entertaining view of his travels, but he also gives us a portrait of his character. He shows us that he is a man with high goals and is undeterred in achieving those goals, even when all odds are against him. He shows us that he is also a very caring man, very much concerned about the welfare of his men and his animals. He also is a man that is awestruck by nature and is very concerned about not unduly intruding upon it or unnecessarily destroying it.

But most of all, this is an adventure story that is just plain fun to read.

A suggestion to readers who are not very familiar with the geography of central Asia would be to have on hand some good maps as the ones Hedin draws are quite limited and often fail to give the perspective that may be desireable.

I concur with NDylanRay@aol.com. This book is exceptional. I could hardly put it down. You feel the excitement and intensity of his adventures, you begin to understand the force that drives him (and you respect him for it), and you meet the people and the places that make Turkestan and Tibet 100 years ago like no place that you could ever imagine.

As a first generation American of Indian descent, I found myself totally engaged by the stories in this book. The way Shona Ramaya describes people and events took me back again and again to many childhood memories. I could see the characters, their expressions, I could hear them talking to one another, and I was once again reminded what a rich culture and heritage I come from. I could not put the book down until I was done reading it cover to cover.

The writing is superb! The stories are surreal, yet vibrate with the reality of surviving in an ever-changing world! One of the best books I've read in the last five years.

I haven't come across such an engaging, thought-provoking collection of stories in a long time, and I read a lot! Who is this writer? How come she is not well known? I want to read all her other books. She is an amazing writer! I recommend this book to all who want to read something that will change the way they think about things.

I enjoyed this collection immensely. The stories are not quite short--about 50 pages each, more like novellas--and it works well that way. The characters are beautifully developed. I could visualize them vividly. The twists in the plot kept me turning the pages. And the plots are rich and satisfying. I went to the author's book reading, and loved it.

The characters in Shona Ramaya's collection of short fiction 'Operation Monsoon' inhabit the global village forecast by Marshall McLuhan and otherwriters of the 1960s. In these superbly realized stories, modern technology touches the lives of each character. A petulant expatriate Indian programmer employed in the United States attempts to control his little brother, half a
world away, by badgering emails. The wonders of the world wide web provide a business opportunity for a crippled Indian woman, considered "unmarriageable" by her family. A tea-stall boy is revealed to be computer savvy; street vendors and illiterate maids know about email and discuss "dot.coms."
Technology enables these characters to inhabit a shrinking world where a confidence revealed in India results in shocked anger in the U.S. Family feuds between brother and sister fly through cyber space between San Jose and Calcutta.
Modernity at once simplifies and complicates the lives of the characters described. In the United States, we may debate: is it required, or even right, to donate one's kidney to save a life? In India the question becomes: What if one sells this living organ? Is this a noble sacrifice, or a foolish commercial transaction? Aside from issues of modernity, individuals must struggle with age old questions of responsibility. What are the obligations of family in the face of international justice? If your cousin is a terrorist, what crime do you commit if you help him evade the law?
Ramaya deftly creates intricate moral mazes for her vividly realized characters and wisely refrains from providing easy answers. She knows the brutalities of twenty first century life. A nightmare that comes true for one character is that she may have aided and abetted men who sold village girls to brothels in Nepal. The terrorist of the title story is himself broken by state brutality. Yet there is wit in these stories as well. It flows in the emails which connect families separated by oceans and continents and shows in the complex characters we meet. One of Ramaya's more witty creations is an urbane Jesuit priest with a fondness for single malt scotch and exquisite silk shirts. Yet he too is a rounded, complete human being; we realize he is drawn to India by private family sorrows.
Ramaya's skill as an author shows in her sure grasp of several genres. In the story "Re:Mohit" she capably extends the epistolary tradition by creating a story told only in email. The detective story form for the story "The Matchmakers" provides a frame for a probing analysis of attitudes towards women and an examination of how a capable, accomplished woman cripples herself by accepting others' attitudes. The title story, "Operation Monsoon", is at once a reflexive fiction--the title comes from a book within the book--and also a complex meditation on terror and the use of terror by individuals and the state.
Ramaya is at home in many different worlds, and her sense of setting is flawless. Urban Calcutta is as vivid as the room in which one sits reading. Village life in rural India is equally well realized, as is the over chilled air of a hotel in Las Vegas where we find a convention of American academics pontificating on a "Third World" they neither know nor understand.
These are first rate stories: accomplished, absorbing, thoughtful and implicitly philosophical. They can be read as entertainments alone, but reward deeper examination and fulfill the highest directive of art: to hold a mirror up to our rapidly changing world; to illumine the deeper recesses of the mazelike human heart. Susan Thornton, Ph.D. Author of ON BROKEN GLASS: LOVING AND LOSING JOHN GARDNER. Carroll & Graff (Avalon Publishing Group)2000.

Despite the fact that I am a little over 3/4 through the book,"PLAIN TALES FROM THE RAJ" Images of British India in the Twetieth Century; as edited by Charles Allen, I can safely say:..... "Magnificient!"

"Pith helmets, oppressive heat, ball room dances, Calcutta women, and Bombay Gin...Here's to all who were there...cherio and chin chin chin!!"

If, you even have but an inkling of interest in the history of India, and or Great Britain...you need to read this book about real stories and real people. A superb book....an outstanding read!

just plain excellant,with a mason foreward to boot should be on every shelf on lndian history the final chapters were the best....thanks

BBC compiled this book with interviews from 60 Brits who had lived in India while it was still a British colony. India -- the jewel in the crown of the British empire --was deep in the consciousness of British society and generations of young, ambitious Brits sallied off to India to make their careers as civil servants, soldiers, merchants, or missionaries.

The book is organized by themes in each chapter. A chapter on households describes the homes and servants the British had, "The Club" tells of that famous British institution transferred to the sub-continent, "Hazard and Sport" is about polo, hunting, tennis, and pig-sticking. Every aspect of life in India is taken up in 21 chapters. It was not an easy life for the colonials, but it was impossibly exotic, witness the popularity of writers such as Rudyard Kipling and Somerset Maugham. Rigid British notions of race and class fit well with Indian caste laws; otherwise India was as different from Great Britain as it could possibly be. That the colonial enterprise was rotten at the core was concealed by stiff upper lips and a government that was "probably the most incorruptible ever known."

"Plain Tales" includes a brief biography of each of the interviewees who represent a cross section of British society in India and a glossary of Anglo Indian words (pukka = proper). This book presents a bird's eye view of the life of British subjects in India and their interaction with their unwilling Indian hosts, the environment, and their fellows. It's all a really fascinating tale. And, finally, in 1947 when the British had to go, they threw their topees -- those ridiculous cork hats -- into the sea and returned to England and Home.

Smallchief

A gem of a book! Too often, stories of the experience of imperialism are scrubbed to fit in with more modern sensibilities instead of staying true to the authentic tale. This book is glorious for the truth of the voices and the attitudes, morals and viewpoints that were the norm for the time. Invaluable to understanding what life was really like, and what motivated those who were the Raj. This was a wonderful read, completely free from political correctness and censorship. Finally a book that seemed to tell the tale as it was. The book flows well, the stories are engaging, the language is crisp and clear, and valuable information is present on every page. There is no attempt to portray the people as anything other than who they were, they are allowed to tell their own stories. I'm very thankful that someone realised how valuable this material would be to future generations and took the steps to capture it while it was still available.

Pithy though this book is it will keep you glued and captivated. British individuals who were masters or participants in Colonial India talk frankly about what it was really like. Many of the people featured in this book like Deborah Dring, Reginald Savory and Philip Mason (who also introduces the volume) would now be dead. The voices were recorded for radio in the mid 1970s. Now the memoirs resurface like something out of a faraway fairytale.

Charles Allen, now getting on himself was originally put in charge of the recordings for a BBC radio series documenting the period of Colonial India between 1900 and 1948 from then living witnesses to a bygone age by Philip Mason. Thank goodness that Mason had the courage to launch this project which was regarded as somewhat politically incorrect even then. Allen is much suited to the task as the heir to a British family that lived and worked in Colonial India over several generations.

The stories reveal a peculiar breed - the very caricature of the English as they once were putting up an even more formal front than they would have at home as the rulers of India - few in number but ruling by prestige. Every part of the book reveals character, humour or history with priceless aphorisms spoken in true English style:

"You get these burning plains right across India, fifteen hundred miles of them, absolutely flat with revisers wandering through them fed by the snows, and behind them the greatest range of mountains in the world. You gradually go up from tropical ... climbs, through European and Alpine flora until you get right up into the snows. I don't think there is anything in life which is such a relief and such a physical delight as going from the heat of the plains in the hot weather up into the mountains"

This is just the tip of an iceberg of a series of sensational real life recordings, but there is more leaving aside some nice photographs, cartoons and sketches reproduced from period material. There are quotations from books such as by Maud Diver from her "The Englishwoman in India" 1909 and bits from period material:

"It is clearly to be understood that no one except on duty is allowed to accompany him and in no circumstances whatever are any ladies allowed to proceed to the border" (from a travel permit).

Practically every aspect of Indian Colonial life is examined up and down the hierarchy from the Viceroy down to corporals and Anglo Indians of mixed blood - though the book leaves you yearning for more - it is not an exhaustive treatment thankfully. We get a great sense for the climate, the "subjects", the pace of life, flirtation, gardening, travel and the rituals associated with that once prominent institution the Club. We look into the army barracks and the Mess -with some men deprived of women for five to seven years and how they bore it, and into the endless parties at Simla in Summer . There are also accounts of the profligacy of the times such as sport, hunts and shoots and the snobbery and segregation that accompanied Colonial life altering through the decades. However, with their power, the British seemed to have dispensed their responsibilities with aplomb - it was a miracle that they did so for so long.

This past best-seller is a must for those who wish to understand the English and Colonial India - it will deserve repeat readings and sharing with friends. A vital reference - precursor to famous TV dramatisations like "Jewel in the Crown".

wonderful! writing styles, details, photos, insights all
excellent. It is like reading a national geograohic article
(so many pictures to go with the stories). The depth he went
into to talk about his ideas and thoughts is really
a treat.

This book is a fascinating account of the life of Ravi Shankar. I was a little reluctant to pick up this book at first- -I thought to myself, "Ravi Shankar- pop star, a musician who lives on hype - who wants to read a fan book? If George Harrison hadn't stumbled across him, he would have been just another sitar player." But after reading this book, I have a much greater understanding and respect for Shankar and all that he has accomplished.

Shankar's early life was simply amazing. His first tour of the US was in 1932, when he was all of 12 years old. With that in mind, it makes perfect sense for Shankar to be the leader in bringing Indian classical music to the West, since he spent so many of his formative years in Paris and on tour throughout Europe and the US. During this time, he became familiar with Western audiences and their expectations, as well as with Western music traditions. It is this familiarity that has enabled him to be so successful at explaining Indian music to Westerners. But as this book details, Shankar was not only popular in the West, but long before George Harrison met him, he had built a very successful career in India. For example, he was the one who did the music for film director Satyajit Ray's Apu Trilogy, among so many other projects.

Shankar's influences on music in both India and the West are enormous and far-reaching. He was one of the first musicians to gain a following in world music, and he fought strongly against the marginalization of world music as a field only fit for ethnomusicologists. As described in this book, in India, he helped change attitudes towards musical performance and performers by demanding full attention from audiences and formal venues, much like classical performers in the West expect.

Interspersed throughout Shankar's text are short interludes from friends such as Yehudi Menuhin and George Harrison. The book includes hundreds of pictures that span Shankar's entire career, including the pre-World War II tours with his brother Uday. There is also a very informative glossary at the end, as well as a chronology and index.

Raga Mala is destined to be a classic of literature.
It is a biography, history, diary, and a basic primer
of Hindustani (North Indian) music.
As a beginning Sitar student under a Guru myself.
I appreciate Raviji's journey from student to master.
The life covers so many memorable moments of history.
His triumphs and pain are an inspiration to all who
are open enough to see it. There is not enough that
can be said to fully explain the depth of this book.
It is fair to say that most will not fully understand
it in one reading.
In closing, Raga Mala will be the textbook to be used
by all interested in Pandit Ravi Shankar, Indian music,
and how it has gained popularity in America since the
1960's. I recommend this book as in the top 5 of my
all time favorite books.

Regardless of how you come into this book, as a Beatles fan, as an admirer of Indian classical music, or someone who studies the Indian culture, you will come out of it thinking of Ravi Shankar as someone very special, but who shares the same passion for life as many of us. "Raga Mala" is his story through his words, from his days as a dancer to traveling out of India for the first time, and eventually setting a goal to spread his music and culture around the world. With celebrity comes fame, and with fame comes admiration, and there were many women who admired him, only for he to admire them back. His love of women is at times overshadowed by his love of food, which is something I never knew before this.

But he talks about his music as his core (at point during the book he compared the sitar to his wife), and gets in-depth about his mission to enlighten people with his music. He loved the hippies but hated their lifestyle, and felt that he could make them high, and higher, with his music.

"Raga Mala" shows a well-traveled and cultured man with the utmost respect for his culture, his people, his music, and life in general. At 81 years old, he knows his "old junk of a body" can't do the things it did when he was 15, but he refuses to slow down for anyone, including himself.

Raga Mala is the autobiography of pandit Ravi Shankar,told in story,profusely illustrated{some in color}], beautifully bound {with luxurious endpapers], on high quality, beautiful papers. It tells his story{introduced by George Harrison} from his early childhood, stage[as a dancer in his brothers famous troupe] to his study of sitar and Hindustani music with a master{Khan},to his gradual emergence in the west. I had no idea, that he had performed at Carnegie hall in the 1930's, that John Coltrane's son ravi was named after him, ot that he was well known BEFORE the Monterey pop or woodstock concerts[he called woodstock"terrifying'}. This is a wonderful book, it tells the ENTIRE ARC of the life of pandit Ravi Shankar{including his apparent heir and pupil, his daughter Anoushka}, and does so with such a well put together volume. The papers, the binding, the photographic reproductions are exquisite. The publisher has done a remarkable job. A classic book, both in form and content.

Though I don't practice Yoga, just Qi-Gong. I find this book very informative and a must have to read for those not know much or history of the spirituality of Yoga. All the different Yoga, beliefs, and what you may not know of any of the Yoga you might had/is practicing.

This book is amazing! I learned so much that no one is really about to talk about in a yoga class. The history of yoga was only scratching the surface, but it was still so much to absorb. This is a powerful book.

This book gave me a clearer understanding of Yoga. My greatest compliment is that it sustained my interest enough to read the book to the end. I enjoyed the humanistic tone of the book, and the simple ordering and structure of topics which brought clarity to a potentially overwhelming subject. I look forward very much to reading more of Georg Feuerstein's books.

When looking for books on Yoga, I had no idea where to start and I didn't want to read some...American trying to cash in book. I saw this book and it seemed real. Wow, I'm glad this is the first book I read on Yoga. Georg Feurstein fully knows and understands the essence of Yoga. The book touches on everything from the history of Yoga to a Yogi's diet. I like how Feurstein always refers back to the old Sanskrit texts of Yogi practices. However, if you are looking for a book where you actually do the postures then look for another book because this book doesn't satisfy that. You should read all you can about Yoga before attempting it, I know my presumptions on Yoga have been changed from reading this book.

I'm in training to become a Yoga teacher. This is a book I will come back over and over again to share information with my students when I start teaching.

As a professional photographer, I can honestly say that this is a wonderful book! It is full of fantastic photos of a culture that is struggling to survive. I highly recommend it!

This book is beautifully shot by a truly skilled photographer -- a must have for anyone with an interest in photography or of the people of Tibet.

San Francisco Sunday Examiner and ChronicleBy Linda Watanabee McFerrinFreelance photojournalist Alison Wright's vivid portrait of Tibetan life in exile will kindle the warmth in any heart. In her vibrant visual sojourn with the Tibetan refugees in Dharamsala, India,she reveals lives rich in reflection and celebration, and creates a doorway into a culturethat survives in spite of travail. Nuns, monks, musicians, yak herders, children, the survivors of political prisons and His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, animate the pages. Her compositions are stunning, the color and light with which she adeptly enflames her subjects exuding both strength and intimacy. A short forward by the photographer underscores the spirit of the composition, but truly this is a book that needs few words. Wright, whose work appears frequently in the Examiner, is most articulate in her photography; and that is worth countless lines of text. "Good intent very important. Most important in all that you do. Never forget, " the Dalai Lama advises her in a garden encounter in Dharamsala. In her work, Wright makes it clear that the message is, indeed, unforgettable.

As a photographer and teacher of the photo arts it is easy to realize the quality of capturing the humanity of the people in this beautiful book. Alison Wright has done an excellent job. Place this in you home so that the tragedy that has been inflicted on the Tibetan people by the brutal and ruthless government of China is not forgotten.

Additional reads on the subject should include Tears of Blood / A Cry For Tibet by Mary Craig and for those who like their history in the style of Hollywood check out Kun Dun by Martin Scorcese, 7 years in Tibet, and Little Budda.

This book will move you to write your elected officials and ask them to support policies that will get China out of Tibet. You may also want to visit the official website for the Government of Tibet in Exile.

Ever since I read Heinrich Harrer's "Seven Years in Tibet" six years, then the later "Return to Tibet" by the same author, I was hooked to Tibet, the Tibetan people, the Tibetan land, the Tibetan mountains, the Tibetan monasteries, everything Tibetan. I have cultivated an unspeakable tie to this unique land and its people. I began screening movies such as Kundun and Seven Years in Tibet. I have imagined and pictured Tibet according to Harrer's lively and mindful description during his residence in Lhasa. "The Spirit of Tibet" graciously allows me, for the very first time, to see Tibet unveiling its mysterious yet solemn beauty. A few other readers have complimented on the artistics and aesthetics of this collection. The collection really touches me because it communicates an unfailing passion. After the Chinese invasion in 1950, it is the Tibetan spirit and passion that sustain and unite the country and its people. When you look through the pictures, try to look into the Tibetans' eyes. Behind these eyes you will free yourself from the ordinary and see their life struggles, one and one, rooted deep in their mind and soul.

Because I referred readers to this book in my 3-STAR review of the Prestons' recently published Taj Mahal: Passion and Genius..., I want to offer a more specific comparison of the two. Significantly, the amount of text each devotes to the Taj complex and those directly associated with it is the same. So, too, is most of the information. But rather than detailing differences--such as that only in this book are criticisms of the mausoleum or that only in the Prestons' are technical details about the water system as well as inconsequential elaboration on who could not have been the architect of the Taj--let it suffice to say that regardless of which book you own, the notes you'd add from the other would amount to but a few pages, unless you'd also want to copy the two pages of translated calligraphic inscriptions that appear only in Okada/Joshi/Nou's TAJ MAHAL.

What makes the two books so dramatically different is that 3/4ths of this one is devoted to showing readers the Taj Mahal complex via Nou's stunning photographs, all of which are in color. There are, for example, 56 of the interior of the mausoleum: 7 are two-page spreads; 40 fill an entire page; many are close-ups that reveal astounding detail. Also given extensive photographic coverage is the exterior of the mausoleum as well as the complex's mosque, guest house and main gate. And showing the magnificence of the entire complex from different perspectives are 4 three-page foldouts.

So many photographs are there in this book, in fact, that as revealing as they are, many begin to have a sameness about them. That the explanations of the architecture/ornamentation are not integrated with the photography may also be a negative for some as may be the absence of any photographs of the related funerary architecture that Joshi discusses. Nevertheless, if you are primarily interested in photographs of the splendors of the Taj Mahal complex as it now appears, you will find none better than Nou's. Before deciding on this book, however, I strongly recommend that you investigate one that merits 10 STARS: Ebba Koch,'s The Complete Taj Mahal, published in 2006. --B. Evans, 4/14/07

This famous monument of love has been a favorite of tourists especially romantics, for many generations now. Visitors from all over the world are drawn to its irresistible charm, beauty and grandeur.

This book, dedicated to the most famous man-made wonder, slowly reveals its glorious detail. Color close-ups of semi-precious stones inlaid in white marble, intricate carvings, decorative patterns, and calligraphy enchant the readers. These artistically taken pictures draw the reader's attention to detail that a regular tourist may have easily missed during visit to the Taj. In fact these pictures are such fine quality and detail as to distract the reader from the well-written text that accompanies them. Every time you pick up this book, you are likely to notice something new, some other fine detail that you missed the last time. We, at Recipedelights.com, think this book is a must-see-and-must-read for designers, artists, armchair tourists, tourists planning to visit Taj and even those who have already visited it.

Following my recent visit to India I purched the book Taj Mahal as a permanent reminder of this magnificent building. The photographs in the book are of a very high standard and have been taken when there is an absence of visitors - a level the average sightseer can never achieve. The special lighting and techniques used for the internal photography makes you feel as though you are actually there. Added to this there is a very informative narrative on the history of and how the Taj Mahal was built. It is certainly a wonderful memento and am sure it will whet the appetite of future visitors.

The Taj Mahal is one of the most spectacularly beautiful buildings in the world, saying it's breathtaking does not do it justice. Not only is it gorgeous but it has one of the great romantic stories tied into its creation. This book does a wonderful job of giving the reader a real feel for this singular structure. The images are vivid and stunning and the scholarly text is highly informative. The intracate detail and exquisite craftmanship in this building are unparalleled. This sublime garden tomb is truly a wonder. If you have any interst in the Taj Mahal or just apprecate beautiful books then I cannot imagine you not loving this book, oh and be forwarned that after taking in this great book you will want to hop a plane to India.

Namaste (Hindu Hi)

this is the best book I have seen on the History of Taj Mahal, if you can't go to India to see the Taj Mahal buy this book this is excellent book, it will give you a very detailed photography of Taj Mahal, the photographer has done excellent work. I give it 5 stars & highly reccomend it.

This book is one of the best I've ever written. I first read it at 14, and have been fascinated by the Taj and it's complicated history, ever since. I was heartbroken when I learned it was out of print, as my own copy was in tatters from constant reading, and I wanted to gift it to some 10 different friends.

It's been reprinted now, and I know what everyone's getting for their birthdays this year!

A story of unimaginable power and suffering and how the two interrelate, Taj is a novel that is both serious and compelling. Unknown to many in the West, the Mughal Emperors of India ruled a vast kingdom and enjoyed unlimited power within their lands. To make their reign the setting for a book is a challenge; the reader must be transported into a very different time and place, and yet made to identify with the characters. The book succeeds on both counts. The characters are well developed and unique, while the details of their lives unfold in all of their exotic difference. Throughout, the question is asked what is the limit of power? The answer resounds darkly: death. The terse Mughal proverb Taktya Takhta Throne or Coffin is repeated along the bloody journey of Shah Jahan, the Mughal emperor who commissioned the Taj Mahal, to the throne and beyond. Along with the historically accurate account of the political struggles of the time, a fictionalized yet plausible love story unfolds between Shah Jahan and his wife Arjumand Banu, a love that culminates in one of the most iconic monuments in the world, the Taj Mahal. The story is fictional because so little is known of the woman for whom the Taj Mahal was built. A few passages from old manuscripts and a giant mausoleum are all that remain of her, yet Timeri Murari does a beautiful job reading the architecture itself and the few written clues available in order to construct a moving tale of love and power.

Great Book so far. I wish there was a glossary or better explanations of the Hindi and Muslim words used in the book but other than that the book is hard to put down. I love the story.

The book is a well-woven historical fiction. If you have passion for history or cultural studies go for it. The writer introduces us to Taj Mahal glimpses of Mughal traditions and grandeur.
The two parallel narratives cover both sides of the Taj, an epic of love on one end, while the agony of a lifelong dread for the craftsmen on the other end. Taj Mahal is much more than a love story. Uptill now it has only represented the love and Shah Jahan. It is highly indebted to thousands of marginalised workers.
There is an unseen shadow of tragedy bandy in the corridors of the Red fort of Agra continuously echoing "Takht ya takhta". The glory and splendour of the throne justifies the successor killing his male siblings. The treasures are a powerful incentive for the rebellions. There is the unfolded story of Khusrau, Jehangir's son who was blinded by his father.
Nur Jahan is worsgipped by many as a forceful, persuasive, powerful and the legendary beautify. There is a conspiratory role attached to her.
The story is informative and to the point. Writer is well versed in research matter.
It reveals that India is not any ordinary land; full of tales, traditions, mystics and treasures.

This is a beautifully written book, which is a wonderful love story, but also gives a great deal of historical understanding about the Mughals and the construction of the Taj Mahal.

If you like historical fiction, this book is for you!