India Books

Understanding the Mind is incredibly clear and precise. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso breaks down each mind we could possibly have, defines what it is, what its function is, and whether the mind is beneficial or not as we pursuit happiness and a spiritual path. There is no other book out there that describes in-depth the nature and function of the mind. I use it as a reference all the time because it is so helpful and inspiring. I would recommend this book to anyone who has a serious interest in learning about the inner workings of the mind from a spiritual perspective.

Understanding the Mind by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso provides spiritual practioners with an accessible, insightful, detailed "manual to the mind" where different types of minds are broken down and dissected helping the reader determine what minds are beneficial to possess and what minds are harmful.
The second half of the book is particularly helpful in showing us how to nurture positive states of mind such as faith, love, effort, and patience that are of immense benefit to ourselves and others.

Understanding the Mind is a truly wonderful book that I refer to again and again for inspiration and insight into the inner workings of the mind.

If you are interested in the details of the dharmic perspective of the mind and that path to enlightenment then this is a well detailed and thoroughly documented definition for any person to follow.

On a personal note:
I am currently going through this book, but one thing that sticks out is that there is no mention of the spirit. Now I have to admit that I have been born into and followed a path that has lead me to believe in the abrahamic (christian specifically) perspective, thus mind/body/spirit. So I am having a hard time incorporating the concepts in this book being that a third of my philosophy is missing, in dharma there seems to be only mind/body.

Thus, anytime I come to a point where I see the spirit involved and not accounted for, I hit a block in the content.

But notwithstanding my own personal bias, the book is well written, fairly dense and a wonderful tool to use to define the processes of the mind, so that we can regain control of the tool that is the mind.

"Understanding the Mind" shows clearly the different functions and aspects of the mind. For one seeking liberation or enlightenment this book is like a treasure.

I am extremely thankful to have found this book.

This is a book for those unafraid to look into their minds, those who seek to know what is unknowable for most people. If it isn't unknowable then it is surely never contemplated. The"mind" is shown for what it is with such clarity. Not a single nuance is overlooked...Western psychology is light years behind as it heals the splits, soothes the rips and mends the tears of existence. One sees everything one is, was and can be in the text of this compact "Wisdom" teaching.

Tremendous insight and understanding of the mind, our thoughts and how they produce the world we experience. Tedious for those who won't explore their minds and enlightening for those who will!

This book is a great source for anyone interested in Buddhism. The chapters are well organized and all terminology is explained thoroughly. The author is great about using examples that everyone can comprehend without going off on tangents that detract from the material.

In this excellent and very readable book, Dr. Corless (a professor of religion at Duke University) uses the life of the Buddha as a framework for introducing the major concepts of Buddhism to a general readership. He accurately and concisely covers the major ideas of South, Central ane East Asian Buddhism and shows a fine respect for all of them. Zen, Theravadin Buddhism, Chinese Pure Land and Tibetan Vajrayana are all well represented and put into perspective. Despite its broad scope, this is an easy to read and inspiring, as well as informative, book. The author has mastered the art of speaking to those of us who are neither scholars nor specialists. "The Vision of Buddhism" does not go over our heads, and Dr. Corless never talks down to us. I highly recommend it.

I bought this book after I met Prof. Corless in an United Religion Initiative conference. He's a very witty guy with a sharp observation. This book demonstrates these qualities.

This book is amazingly comprehensive yet easy to read. I was glued to the book right after I received it. Prof. Corless structures and explaines complex Buddhist ideas in an easy and fascinating way. Definitely one of the best introduction to Buddhism because, very early in the book, he points out common mistakes Westerners make when approaching Buddhism. Since most people are influenced by mainstream Christianity, they analyze Buddhism with the wrong methodology.

Along reading the book, you will pickup small funny stories from him. His personality shines through this book.

This book is indeed one of the best introductions to Buddhism one can possibly read. Corless applies his own experience with the religion, to all of the teachings he presents in the book. Keep in mind that a lot of what is included here is explanations of the Buddhist idealogy, not anything that you can really practice.

Use this book as more of a factor in deciding if Buddhism is the right religion for you. Corless even takes the time to write some excellent footnotes, so you could even consider this book for research.

I think the reason this book worked so well for me was the fact that it was presented in such a non-threatening way that it makes the book easy to absorb. Keep in mind that careful reading is important, as a lot of chapters reference previous chapters. This is not a determent to the quality of the book, rather it is important to the building block style of teaching Buddhism that the book represents.

Buy this book as a great introduction if you have even the slightest interest in the Buddhist vision. You won't be disappointed.

I've probably read 1000 books on buddhism, and Corless' book still gave me new insights and new ways of looking at the Dharma. *THE* book I recommed to friends who ask "How can I learn something about Buddhism."

I read this book and was blown away. Incredible stories, unbelievable, awe inspiring to say the least. This book describles stories of very sick people trying urine fasts, as a last resort, after years of traditional medical treatment and healing whatever ails them. I would also recommend "Your own perfect medicine" by Martha Christy and "the golden fountain" by coen van der kroon, two books I also read about urine therapy. I have done a few urine fasts and they really work to help you lose weight and junk in your body.

The universe keeps gifting us with blessings and we often miss them. Our education or culturization gets in the way. I really think the best things in life are free. The Water of Life by John Armstrong is a beginning, an opening door, that will hopefully change opinions. The cases presented are not only interesting they are convincing. My biggest complaint, is that there are not enough specifics for implementing. e.g. For application to the head/hair. How long should it remain on the hair. Should the hair then be shampooed, or just rinsed?

My fear has flown out the window, I'm convinced. Very easy to read guidelines for applying urine therapies, with testimonials.

It's very useful both for ill people but also for the others !
I recommend it !
Thanks !

THE WATER OF LIFE : A Treatise on Urine Therapy by John W. Armstrong. Saffron Walden, Essex : The C. W. Daniel Co.Ltd., 2nd Edition 1971, Twelfth Impression, 1998.

Since its first publication in 1945, 'The Water of Life' has achieved something of the status of a classic. Having just finished reading it, I can understand why. Armstrong, who was a British naturopath, was a very modest man who never intended to write his book. But after repeated requests, and after considering that he had a duty to his fellow men and women to reveal the details of the miraculous therapy he had discovered, he went ahead, and we should all be intensely thankful that he did. The book is a goldmine of good sense, practical advice, brief though fascinating case studies, and astute observations on a wide range of matters.

His discovery - or perhaps rediscovery is a better word, since urine therapy was and is known and practised in many cultures and is even known to the animals - came about in a curious way. As a young man he suffered from consumption, had been passed through the hands of a whole slew of orthodox medical practitioners, none of whom had been able to cure him, and some of whom made his condition worse.

But he seems to have been a religious man, and one day, while pondering Proverbs V.xv : "Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well," he had a flash of inspiration which led him to link this passage with a few tales he'd heard about the curative properties of urine. Could this reference to "waters," he wondered, be a reference to the body's own water - urine? Having nothing to lose, he decided to give it a try.

He began drinking his own urine, was restored to health, and went on to lead a vigorous and productive life by helping to restore the health of many others, both human and animal. Incidentally, one of the interesting features of his book, which indicates something of his kindly and unselfish nature, is that he has included a Chapter XVI 'Urine-Therapy on Animals.'

In 'The Water of Life' he has provided details of the threefold 'urine fast' method he worked out, details which will be found enough to go on by mature adults of average intelligence who have a bit of common sense.

The most important point to understand, which he emphasizes throughout, is that one should NEVER attempt to use or ingest any substance other than urine and pure water - whether chemicals, drugs, alcohol, denatured foods, etc., - when undergoing a urine fast or 'penance' as he liked to call it.

The whole idea is to allow NATURE to take her course with as little interference from us as possible. A fast of urine and pure water, plus frequent, lengthy, and thorough urine massages, and, if necessary, the application of urine compresses, would, he felt, cure pretty well anyone of almost anything if undertaken long enough for the body to rid itself of toxins.

Armstrong's 'The Water of Life' is a very rich book, crammed with fascinating and useful information, and interwoven with brief case histories of almost every conceivable ailment. I couldnt even begin to do justice here to the wealth of ideas it contains.

Four books on urine therapy are currently available : those of Armstrong, Martha Christy, Coen van der Kroon, and Flora Peschek-Bohmer. Of these, the Peschek-Bohmer may be ignored as being both superficial and highly misleading on essential matters. The remaining three all serve to complement each other in different ways, with one providing what the other lacks or hasn't gone into as fully.

The serious practitioner would be unwise to overlook Armstrong. True, his is an early book and we know more about the actual constituents of urine and how it does its work today. But he was a unique character, and in his own way he was a very wise man, and I think he will always have a lot to teach us all.

Something of a misnomer, as he was merely Arthur Wellesley in India.
But this is a minor criticism because this is the first book of a trilogy radically titled WELLINGTON IN INDIA, WELLINGTON IN THE PENINSULA, and WELLINGTON AT WATERLOO.
I must confess I read the last first. But this is because I do wargame that particular battle regularly.
The author is a real fan of ARTHUR, reading the trilogy you get to the conclusion he never put a foot wrong!, and that is I am afraid not true at all... even his flirtations with married women are branded with the comment "consenting husbands" attached to prove it was all right!.
Been serious, Arthur Wellesley made his teeth on military AND political affairs in India, his learnings on matters so important as transports and logistics are duly emphasized (to the limit... with the gratuitous comment that if HE would have been in command of the 1812 Russian campaign the French wouldn't have starved!...which is OUT OF FOCUS... he would never have tried such a stupid campaign at all!).
Mr. Weller overpraise him thoroughly, and in fact this is against the character itself, I must agree with him in the fundamental things thought:
Arthur Wellesley understood proper logistics and campaigning in an hostile land.
He was a master of diplomacy and cooperation with proud quasi enemies.
All the experience he acquired in INDIA and bettered in the Peninsula served him well at Waterloo (where he was nearly licked... only the Prussians arrival saved the day!)
It is to his ever lasting merit the final military defeat of Napoleon thanks to a pincer movement in which his Allied army was the anvil and the Prussian army the hammer. Without the Prussians promised help he wouldn't have fought at all at Waterloo. And it was a near run thing.
He was undoubtedly A VERY GOOD AND COMPLETE MODERN GENERAL by far advanced to his times...
But there is no need to debase Napoleon to eulogize Wellington, after all the former did produce a Civil Code of Law that was valid for nearly two hundred years.

But I digress, this book is very well crafted in an exhaustive American way, and can be recommended to anyone interested in where and how the future Duke of Wellington learned his trade.
A must read.

ADB

PS: Of course if you have read the three books of Sharpe in India, then you know a bit what to expect...

Jac Weller continues his admiration of Sir Arthur Wesley (later Wellsley and Duke of Wellington). Here we take a step back in time to Wesley's earlier career in India. For many this will have little known territory. Those who have read the Sharpe novels may have some idea of the period in question, and they will certainly get the historical background for those novels here.

Wesley certainly learned his trade in India. Much of what he learned here in terms of supply, organization and diplomacy would stand him in well in the campaigns of Spain and Portugal, and of course Waterloo. In terms of tactics readers might see some differences. In the sub-continent our hero aspired to an aggressive stance. The trick to defeating large cavalry type armies whether Mysore or Mahratta was aggression. Wesley always believed that these unweildy masses should be attacked whenever possible with the smaller, disciplined and more maneaverable Anglo-Indian forces. This is a different form of generalship than what we would see in the Peninsular and Waterloo. Again, Wesley was a supurb tactician, and adaptable. He was always learning and researching better methods of supply, intelligence, etc. This combined with his brilliance and coolness under fire certainly made him one of the best generals of the Napoleanic period.

One tactic which the reader will see employed later was his distribution of artillery among his infantry units. The guns were never massed as the Mahrattas preferred, or indeed the French. One marvels how at Assaye the 78th Highlanders were able to frontally attack all those guns. The key was speed and elan, combined with excellent and flexible generalship. India would see Wesley's ability to be everywhere on the battlefield. Because of Orrick's mistake at Assaye he would never truly trust others to carry out his orders. It was here where he developed that personal mega-detail style of generalship that won all his later battles. He was also fortunate never to receive any wounds, even though at Assaye he had two horses shot out from under him! Also, his steady horsemanship and ability to conduct extensive recces on his own or with a small staff was something many generals of the period never took too seriously.

Jac Weller describes how the Wellsely's, Arthur and his two brothers, vastly improved the British position in India. In fact they did too good a job as the conservative East India Company grew tired of their rapid advances with additional expenses. The Wesley's introduced a notion of good government over the growing empire in India, an idea that had profound influence in that nation's future development under British rule. Jac Weller may come across to some as a colonialist, but many of his arguments make sense within the concept of the time. India's peasants were no doubt better off under the British than their own petty and often murderous rulers. Mysore and the Mahratta kingdoms were certainly not about improving the lot of their own people, and there was no notion of a greater India at that time. The work of the Wellsleys would play no small part in developing a greater nationalist outlook in India.

Be warned, Jac Weller is very pro-British. The Iron Duke is his hero, and there is little that he can do wrong. Judgeing from what was accomplished here one tends to agree with that. Still, this is a fine work with many fascinating details, and wonderful tactical descriptions of battle. No one describes Napoleanic warfare better than Weller. Though an older book, no one has come out with anything better since so I strongly recommend this work, especially if you have read his other two works on Wellington in the Peninsular and of course at Waterloo. All that he later accomplished there was first worked out in India. There are also good maps and an appendix on the army's and weapons. A classic work.

Jac Weller's "Wellington in India" is a highly readable study of Arthur Wellesley's formative military experiences in India, and one of remarkably few books devoted to the topic. The book in battlefield level detail sketches the future Duke's 1797-1805 campaigning against a variety of native opponents. The battlefield narratives are closely informed by Weller's understanding the terrain, based on having walked all the principal battlefields. In addition, Weller lays out the complex political environment in which the young Wellesley operated. What emerges from this portrait is a young, ambitious, and professional officer who operates with increasing confidence and success in a challenging battlefield and political environment. From his experiences in India comes the future Duke's understanding of the importance of logistics, intelligence, planning, and the careful deployment of well-trained troops on the battlefield. Wellesley's long apprenticeship in India and later in the Peninsular War of 1808-1814 made him a master of battlefield tactics and operational-level planning, skills that would serve him well in the decisive battle of Waterloo in 1815 against Napoleon. This book is highly recommended to the serious student of Wellington's military career and of the Napoleonic era.

Jac Weller's Wellington in India is a truly excellent book. It is very readable and flows extremely well. It is one of the few books of its kind that I've read literally cover-to-cover - forward, preface, body, and appendixes - everything. The detail of the book is also exceptional. He tells the reader why and how Wellington achieved his successes not just when.

When Wellington's name is mentioned, people tend to think first of Waterloo, then of the Peninsulars Wars. It is easy to forget that he got his start in India, and that is the period which Jac Weller covers so well in this book. This was a completely different kind of warfare than that fought in Europe, and Wellington (or Wellesley, as he was then) had to contend not only with far superior forces, but also with the climate, which caused Europeans to die like flies. Two things above all should be remembered: first, that when Wellington was asked what his greatest victory was, he said not Waterloo, but Assaye; and second, Weller's three books about Wellington's campaigns were named by Bernard Cornwell as the best source material for his Sharpe series.

Vaswani's creative honesty and descriptive genius make these sojourns memorable. Like dreams one cannot forget, the residual allegorical power of the situations you experience linger on long after all the pages have been turned. From stark reality to the fantastic, Vaswani's range touches on various levels of human existence - the mundane to the spiritual. Waiting for more.

Readers who love the short story will enjoy discovering this exciting young writer. The stories have a wide range - magical realism with roots in (East)Indian mythology, funny and realistic depictions of the tensions, misunderstandings, and strong ties within intergenerational Indian immigrant families - but all are almost compulsively readable. The pages fly by, and you will find yourself laughing out loud. Resonant with some of your favorite Indian authors, but an authentically new and hard to categorize American voice.

What separates this book from the pack and makes it a must-read is the multifaceted power of the writing. Vaswani is functioning on a literary level, eschewing easy plotlines and trite constructions, and yet the reader gets soundly pulled into each and every story in the same tidal way children sit rapt at the unfolding of a fable. Vaswani follows the truth of the human heart, regardless of the borders it may cross or the many ways it may find to love.
Many of the stories have land-mine lines or images that--spearing out from the artfully crafted exposition or the colossally detailed exposures of character--bury themselves hilt-deep in the reader: a passing reference to a lumpectomy, an innocent question about the demonic nature of higher education. It is moments like these that had me placing the book back on top of the pile when I was done, ready to read it again almost immediately.

Anyone who appreciates the economy and power of the short story form should buy and read this book which is astonishing in its historical, cultural, geographic and stylistic range. Many of the stories, but especially the first two, are an eerie blend of myth and modernity. The reader must speculate on how much they were adaptations from what the author, whose parents are Indian and Irish, read or heard as a child and how much they were creatures of her own wondrously bizarre imagination. Modern stories, except those intended for children, are rarely animistic. These are feistily complex fables for adults who understand the continuum between humans and the rest of the sentient world. "Twang (Release)" has to be one of the zaniest and zenniest titles for a short story (or long, complex dream) ever invented. I found a word I'd never seen before --"marcelled". Are these marshalled waves, or marceauvian waves that mime movement as Vaswani's narrative mimes the crazed logic of fantasy? "The Excrement Man" is as rich in incongruity as the others; the core story is more linear than the first two, although it too has many hallucinatory gambols and gambles. "Sita and Mrs Durbar" is a sad but lovely piece, more manic in subject than style. "Five Objects in Queens" is a suite of vignettes with a common cast, chronological structure, and disconcerting counterpoint -- foreboding continuum under light motifs. I imagine that these Queens stories are more autobiographical than the others, if only for the direct Irish Indian references, but they may be just more miracles of Vaswani's endlessly fertile imagination. "Bing-Chen" offers other ethnically diverse insights, notably the sweet wistful lust of a self-conscious Asian boy who watches prom girls being shorn, before his own hair mixes on the floor with theirs. "Domestication of an Imaginary Goat" is a tour-de-force unraveling of a relationship, interwoven with nostalgic yearning for ways of life lost to political and migratory vagaries. "The Rigors of Dance Lessons" half as long as the other stories in this collection, and even more, well, rigorous, recounts an intense flamenco session, ineptness, disdain and reconciliation. Vaswani's cultural range is especially impressive in another Iberian piece, "Bolero,"which draws together the Basque ethonological landscape and vivid musical metaphors. One could quarrel with Bernstein's equivalency, cited here, between movement and sentence. Why is not the musical movement equivalent to a chapter or to a multi-themed, multiple layered Vaswani story? "The Pelvis Series" takes us into yet other areas of expertise, to paleontology and primate research, and an engaging character, Lola Bonobo, blurring the boundaries of what is human. "An Outline of No Direction" is a clever, telegraphic exercise in subjective geography: four parts follow cardinal directions, disintegrating our vast country; the fifth part is a pebbly reintegration. Vaswani transcends this surface structure with the language and density of reported incident. The last piece "Blue Without Sorrow" is another mysterious migration-and-myth, life-and-death story, marrying (somehow) Mexico and India, peasants and peanuts and literary escapes.

This is Neela Vaswani's first book, but her unique voice is already beyond "enormously promising." I can't recommend it highly enough and I just can't wait for her second.

A fireworks display of language and form: this is a stunning debut!

I liked this book for several reasons: it provided a chronological overview; explained the meaning of the Indian ritual; showed the logic behind the architecture of the Hindu temple; showed the importance of the mirroring of the outer into the inner in Indian thought. I believe I understand the esoteric aspects of Vedic spirituality much better after reading this book. I found it very enjoyable!

I liked this book because it is off the beaten track in highlighting the essentials of Indian civilization. It is a small book, but full of surprising insights.

Enjoying reading this panoramic introduction to India and her spiritual heritage!

In this essay Kak covers all the fundamental facets of the Indic tradition. He sheads light on previously misconcieved notions of the European view of India. A must read for any Indian. An enriching educational experience! The book was based off of lectures I saw @ Stanford.

'Subhash Kak presents what is arguably the most complete, articulate and up-to-date overview on the entire Indic tradition. More notably, he speaks not from a dry academic standpoint but from one in contact with the very soul and spirit of the culture. His panoramic view covers spirituality, science, linguistics and history, making clear India's important role in world civilization past, present and future. He dispels the many current distortions and misinterpretations of India, the cobwebs of colonial and Eurocentric thinking, and reveals her vast civilization in its true light. Everyone interested in India and in human civilization will be fascinated and transformed by his many-sided insights. They will never look at India again in the same way.' This is how David Frawley describes the book and I believe that is a fair assessment. The book is based on lectures at Stanford and California universities.

This book shows the life of what the sisters of charity do and it is excellent. I say the pictures here touch your heart. Seeing all these pictures of the lives of the Sisters of Charity and Mother Theresa are great. Looking at what they do is more touching that just hearing it.

This is an assemblege of photography of Mother Teresa and her nuns doing their work in various locations around the world. Picture speak a thousand words, and this book gives a true sense of the daily works they do.

Collopy's volume on Mother Teresa is a spiritual journey even for the atheist. The compassion, humility and love that was Mother Teresa and lives on in the work of her Sisters is caringly portrayed in Michael Collopy's book. You see a rare side of Mother Teresa whose warm smile could light up a room. Collopy adds a tremendous dimension with his own recollections of speciifc instances noted in his photogrpahs. His own spiritual depth and the impact that Mother Teresa had on his life is apparent.

I am a photography major at Purdue University. I have the book and believe that Michael Collopy is a brilliant photographer. If there is anyone out there who knows how I can get in touch with him, please let me know. I want to do a report on him for one of my classes.

Collopy's volume on Mother Teresa is a spiritual journey even for the atheist. The compassion, humility and love that was Mother Teresa and lives on in the work of her Sisters is caringly portrayed in Michael Collopy's book. You see a rare side of Mother Teresa whose warm smile could light up a room. Collopy adds a tremendous dimension with his own recollections of speciifc instances noted in his photogrpahs. His own spiritual depth and the impact that Mother Teresa had on his life is apparent.

At a mere 323 pages, I was eager for an even more in-depth study of the blazing hot market for South Asian snow-removal technology. Surely there's more to explore. For example, why not include the riding variety? We can only hope that will come in volume 2!

That said, after reading it, I'm seriously considering starting a Mumbai-based snow-thrower franchise. I think snowmobiles and muk-luks and anoraks (using traditional Indian fabrics, of course) are also going to be part of the business.

This six-year outlook may seem at first to be a juicy treat for only those investing in the snow-filled regions of the Indian subcontinent. However, I have found it of lasting value in the fluff and blow business across the Americas as well. Non-riding dual-stage attachment-free snow blower consumers are a tight bunch of enthusiasts and businesses, and groups in the Americas keep an eye on Asia to hint at trends for next year's hot items. The projected drop in diesel kilohp snow blowers in urban Kandahar starting in 2009 is sure to have repercussions through 2011 in the Alps and Andes regions. Luckily, consumers aren't tapped into these high-quality niche datafeeds, or the bottom would drop right out of our futures. A must-have.

I am an ever-procrastinating Christmas shopper. But this year, I need not wait any longer. This book will make THE perfect stocking stuffer for EVERYBODY on my list!

I've recently said to my wife, "It seems like all people talk about anymore is the latent need for improved snow management in the southern hemisphere. You can't walk into a coffee shop, a barber shop, a grocery store nowadays without overhearing somebody gabbing about this issue!"

I am ordering a dozen. At only $495, I can't imagine they'll be able to keep these things on the shelves! Who knows, I may even e-bay a couple of them down the road to pay for my children's college educations. Thank you, Phil Parker.

This is an absolute must-have for anyone who's considering getting into the snow-blower business on the subcontinent. As a bonus, it's a real page-turner with an engaging plot line, colorful subplots, and a double-twist ending that keep you on the edge of your seat to the very last page!

a comparision of eastern religions and their influence on western thought

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was a unique person.
He was a respected philosopher and statesman.
He wrote several excellent works concerning Eastern and Western Philosophy and Religion.
He served as President of India.
He was a deeply spiritual man who tried to bridge Eastern and Western thought and cultures.
Can you imagine such a deep spiritual thinker as this in our own White House? Wouldn't that bring a golden age of peace and enlightenment?
Oh well. It won't happen here in the land of violence and materialism.
Anyway, this book is outstanding. Radhakrishnan was an excellent scholar and had deep spiritual insights. He reminds me, in some ways, of Alan Watts who was a sound scholar as well as a mystic. If you want an excellent discussion of Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism and their interrelationships, read this book.

a comparision of eastern religions and their influence on western thought

One of the best books on a philosophical discussion of various religions of the world. The author is probably the most respected philosopher who bridged the gaps in Eastern and Western philosophy.

This is a great book if you're planning a trip to India with children aged 4-11, or if you've been to India with them and you want to help them recapture the experience. (I'm not sure what children who have no other connection to India would make of it.)

My son is four and loves the book in spite of all the text. He's been to India, and so have his parents. The wonderful jumble of drawings (mostly quite accurate--must have been either on-site or from a good photo collection) and collage is captivating enough that I think most youngsters would be capable of sitting through the lengthy text, though the diary format is a little awkward for reading aloud. There are occasional minor inaccuracies (the library review above correctly points out the "puja" problem... but then, this book doesn't pose as an encyclopedia entry), but as children's books on India go, this one's on the more accurate side of the scale. What's most impressive is the girl's eagerness to meet children from another place, culture, and economic class. She makes friends in a way that seems genuinely non-judgemental. (She and her family chat with a poor pavement dweller in Calcutta, an incense worker in Mysore, a fruitseller on the beach in Goa...)

This is a great book! My son is 9 years old and went to India a couple of years ago. This book vividly brought back all his memories. What I liked best was that even though it is not written by an Indian, it is so authentic. The illustrations are just great! I highly recommend it.

India is a large and diverse country, the home of many ancient and interesting cultures. This book is the travel dialog of a young girl named Anni as she travels through India with her mom and dad. They travel by train, bus, camel and elephant. There are many illustrations and they illustrate the daily street life of India. You see people bathing in the Ganges River, carts being pulled by oxen, people cooking their food in the streets, street vendors hawking their wares, children at school under a tree, and the clothes that the Indians wear. What was most interesting were the pictures of products they encountered in India. Postage stamps, matches, cameras, railway tickets, lottery tickets, honey, fireworks, fabrics, hotel receipts and other products that I did not recognize.
An excellent introduction to India written for young people, this book demonstrates some of the variety and vitality of a country whose culture was old when the first white people landed in North America.

This is a great book! My son is 9 years old and went to India a couple of years ago. This book vividly brought back all his memories. What I liked best was that even though it is not written by an Indian, it is so authentic. The illustrations are just great! I highly recommend it.