India Books

When John Knight's father accepts a magistrate's job in British-controlled India, John is sure that India is the most exciting place he has ever been! John and his mother meet Amy Carmichael, a missionary who works to save Indian girls from child marriage, or worse fates. When a young girl named Jewel comes to Miss Carmichael pleading for refuge, John and his mother become deeply involved in her life. As magistrate, John's father is forced to uphold the Indian law requiring Jewel to marry her greedy uncle. John is torn between obedience to his father and compassion for Jewel. What he decides to do affects many people. Don't miss out on this book!

We are two girls from fith grade.
When Johns father accepts to go to India for junior magistrate John and his mother know that their is a lot to explore.When they meet Miss.Carmichel she invites Johns mother to Dohnavur fellowship. Then they meet an Indian girl who her uncle is trying to arrange a child marriage for her. A few months later Miss Carmichel went to court to try to get custody of Jewel. Miss Carmichel was forced to let Jewel to go back to her uncle so she could get married. So John took Jewel to safety so she didn't have to get married. From then a man took her to China so she could be safe.
This book was awesome! We think it needs five stars for having excitement and action.

When John Knight's father accepts a magistrate's job in British-controlled India, John is sure that India is the most exciting place he has ever been! John and his mother meet Amy Carmichael, a missionary who works to save Indian girls from child marriage, or worse fates. When a young girl named Jewel comes to Miss Carmichael pleading for refuge, John and his mother become deeply involved in her life. As magistrate, John's father is forced to uphold the Indian law requiring Jewel to marry her greedy uncle. John is torn between obedience to his father and compassion for Jewel. What he decides to do affects many people. Don't miss out on this book!

A few years ago I went to my favorite metaphysical bookstore in Cambridge, MA, and asked them to recommend a good book for learning about Hinduism. They pointed me to The Hindu Mind. I've read many books on spiritual philosophy from different traditions and I can say this ranks right up there as one of my favorites. Mr. Pandit explains the many facets of Hinduism with intelligence and clarity. His straightforward writing style is easy to read and understand. The book is organized well also. He presents Hinduism from 3 perspectives: the philosophical, religious and cultural.

Mr. Pandit also includes a couple of chapters with philosophical perspectives on Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism as all 3 are offshoots from Hindism. He points out which aspects of Hindusim they kept and where their beliefs differ.

One of the things I love about Hinduism is how intelligent it is. Of all the religions I've studied it's one of my favorites. (Note: I'm a neopagan mystic.) The ancients recognized that people are different and that different temperaments are attracted to different spiritual philosophies. Hinduism is the ultimate melting pot religion, and is capable of containing the complexity of multiple spiritual belief systems unified by a few key threads. I'm sure that's why it's survived all these thousands of years.

No matter what your religious background, if you are an openminded person you wil learn much from this book that can be applied to your own path, whatever that may be.

This is the best book for Hindu-Americans who want to know every aspect of Hindu society, culture, and heritage. It is the only book written in Engligh that Hindu-Americans can understand and in a style they can relate to. I bought this at a Hindu Students Council (HSC)program and I know there are many people who have liked it as much as me. Look for his new book Hindu Dharma also

I found this book to be very well organized and indexed, making it easy to use as a reference guide. The book not only provides a solid foundation of all aspects of Hinduism, it illustrates the practical nature of these beliefs. Ancient Sanskrit verses that are still commonly used by Hindus today are translated while retaining there original charm. I also found that the book does a good job in clearing the common misperceptions of this religion and distinguishes between the actual religion and philosophy versus ascribed meanings by sources outside of Hinduism. I would recommend this book to anyone, particularly those that are intrigued by this religion but don't want to be overwhelmed. If nothing else, the index, charts, tables, and illustrations will provide a wealth of information

I read an old edition of this years ago. It's nice now to have my own copy.

I wish this book will soon available in your bookshelves coz I really look for this book for ages and none bookstores yet sell the books. I've read some about Thomas Stamford Raffles and really adore the way he rules, and how he could be a Governor General in Java while he was still young, a great leader should not always come from a noble family! I have similarities to his life story.

It is doubtful that any contemporary official could write such an elegant and comprehensive work. Raffles not only left his post as Governor of Java, with the routine reports, but an analysis of the culture and languages. In his dedication to the Prince Regent he stated: "To uphold the weak, to put down lawless force, to lighten the chain of the slave, to sustain the honour of the British arms and British good faith; to promote the arts, sciences and literature, to establish humane institutions, are duties of government... I have had the honour, as a servant of the East India Company, to preside over a mild and simple people ... and by doing everything in my power to make them happy."
This is an artifact of the British Empire at its finest.

In this splendid volume the full import of the Vedic Knowledge on which the ancient Vedic Civilization was based is set out. Could such a civilization ever exist again? The answer provided in this book is a resounding 'Yes!' India can again become Ideal India and can be a Lighthouse of Peace on Earth.

This book is a tour-de-force, integrating the deepest significance of the plethora of expressions of Natural Law embodied in the different Vedic Devatas, with the most recent understandings of how the vibrational modes of the Superstring Quantum Field Theory give rise to all creation. It details how the very existence of our human physiology is an integrated expression of both. In addition, whatever your field: government,
education, medicine, defence, agriculture etc., the knowledge for ide al administration of your area is clearly set out, together with extensive references to recent research, and presentations by those who have begun to implement these principles. In language anyone can easily understand, this book presents fully the practical applications of the teachings of His Holiness Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

To be Indian at a time when this level of knowledge is available everywhere (check out Veda Vision/The Maharishi Channel, a world-wide satellite TV channel referred to in this book), must be to swell with a pride greater than that of the citizens of any of the world's great empires. This book is an investment that no-one can afford to be without in this 21st century.

Ideal India - the Lighthouse of Peace on Earth is one of the most inspiring, informative, reliable and confidence-building books that I and my husband, Dr. Dinesh Dey, have ever read. It was extremely uplifting to understand that no nation, no individual, need feel suppressed or suffer today, because the key to power is in being invincible. The knowledge to gain invincibility is readily available in this book.

Every important aspect of life and living has been critically approached and analyzed, namely: education, health care, administration, defense, agriculture, and poverty. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi has emphasized that all problems arise out of our ignorance of self, and only true knowledge about the self can solve every difficulty, every problem in our lives. At the basis of this enlightened approach to the world's problems is the knowledge drawn from the Vedas and Vedic Literature, a body of knowledge compiled by great seers or Rishis of India from time immemorial and reorganized by Maharishi for its theoretical and practical significance.

The most appealing aspect of the book is that it constantly draws upon a great body of scientific research and publications that have over the years authenticated the beneficial aspects of Transcendental meditation and the Vedic knowledge. That the Veda and Vedic Literature have the answers from the smallest to the largest problems in today's world is amazing.

It was doubly satisfying for us to read this book, because, as Indians, we realized that it is a book which can not only make all Indians comprehend that in India's glorious past is the solution to all it's present woes, but that India can also serve as a road map for peace, prosperity and progress for all nations on earth.

Ideal India-Lighthouse of Peace on Earth is an enormous, consummate gift from His Holiness Maharishi Mahesh Yogi to India, the Land of the Veda, and to the whole world.

The unspoken exhortation, "Awake!" runs like a chord throughout the book:

"Awake, India, to the priceless treasure of your Vedic heritage.

"Awake, modern world-so peaceless, divided, and self-destructive-to your natural state of unity and enlightenment."

In the Bhagavad Gita, the most famous text of the Vedic Literature, Lord Krishna gives Arjuna the Total Knowledge of life and Arjuna says, "Smriti Labda-I have regained memory." In the same way, Maharishi knows that India's Vedic Tradition provides the master key to eliminate all problems in every field of human life-only India herself must remember her Vedic heritage, buried under the cloud of centuries of foreign influence.

Nearly half a century ago, Maharishi took as his goal the spiritual regeneration of the whole world through the complete knowledge of life passed down through the great Masters of the Vedic Tradition. During the past forty-five years, he has organized the millennia-old scattered Vedic Literature into a perfect science and has designed programs to apply this knowledge to every area of society.

In Ideal India-Lighthouse of Peace on Earth, Maharishi reminds India that "The roots of Indian life are in Cosmic Law. Modern laws are too superficial to do justice to the ideals of real Indian Law and the Indian aspiration for Cosmic Life to be practically lived in individual life."

This book tells us that "Veda" means knowledge, the Total Knowledge of Natural Law. Maharishi sees India-the real India, which is a land of knowledge, the Land of the Veda-as having the ability to radiate an indomitable influence of peace and to serve as a nourishing mother for our whole world family by making every area of national life Vedic. The book outlines in complete, practical detail exactly how this can be done.

Ideal India- Lighthouse of Peace on Earth is not only a book for India; it is an encyclopedia of Maharishi's Vedic Science, including within its 500 pages the content of a number of Maharishi's other books, as well as many new gems of knowledge, for example the extensive section on Maharishi Vedic Organic Agriculture.

Lovers of peace around the world will treasure this book, will feel overwhelming gratitude to Maharishi for disclosing the Total Knowledge of life so simply and practically in this generation, and will feel compelled to apply its wisdom to restore our world to its natural state of peace and perfection.

Great photographs and wonderful text. Steve Raymer has captured in images and words the hopes and challenges facing people leaving their homeland for a new life in often quite different countries. He embodies the best in journalism, the ability to cross disciplines and yet excell in both. This book should be required of all of us concerned with world change and how people meet this change.

Steve Raymer's photography career is legendary, and in this book he captures the Indian Diaspora as it's never been done before. There are some 25 million people of Indian origins living outside India, a country of 1.2 billion people. How do these expatriates live? Why do they retain their cultural heritage? Why do they many of them flourish outside their native milieu? The portraits tell it all. Buy this book also for Nayan Chanda's superb foreword. Through his text, and Raymer's pictures, you will understand the global face of India -- and Indians.

Steve Raymer's new book is just one more outstanding example of his ability to blend passion, clarity and a real gift for communication. As in his previous books (on Islam and another on Vietnam) his photographic skill prods the reader into asking questions that are well answered by both the photographs and accompanying text. (This was the hallmark of National Geographic Magazine in days gone by, and it is a real treat to see it captured again in his latest work.) Images of a Journey is extremely informative and helps us to better understand the impact of the Indian people and culture not only in the United States but throughout the world. Definitely a worthwhile and successful effort that simultaneously teaches and entertains!

The book illustrates and studies many new, as well as older well known theories behind the Lutyens Delhi Plan. Volwahsen demonstrates a tremendous amount of research as well as insight that has gone into the subject, which in turn, make you think for yourself.
A must for anyone remotely interested in the subject.

As someone who lives and works in New Delhi, I've often thought that Raj Path (the Central Vista) reminded me of Washington DC and Paris, and now my suspicions have been confirmed thanks to Volwahsen. I've been to most of the prominent buildings built by the British in New Delhi and the author does them justice. The book is beautifully illustrated and supported by numerous maps and photos. The text is well-written and knowledgable.

My only criticism (a minor one) is that Volwahsen at times assumes that the reader has more than a general knowledge of architecture. For example, he frequently refers to the "stupa" without ever really defining it (a sort of Buddhist roof style). I would have added an appendix with a listing of architectual terms used along with definitions and context.

This should not detract from anyone's decision to read Volwahsen's work, however, as he has done a masterful job. I heartily recommend this book.

Wow, this book is incredible, it is quite frankly a perfect book on this subjuct. This book does not leave one leaf unturned, it has amazing B&W photos and the research is impecable, I just kept thinking, this took a great deal of time and effort to put together, that it had to have been a labor of love or they would have never gotten through it. The effort by the British Raj to build Imperial New Delhi from scratch in two decades is a tribute to British imperial power at its zenith. Whether you think it was wrong or right of the Raj to brand its imperial power on India forever, in the form of Western classical meets Indian mogul, you can't help but be blown away by the scope and beauty of Imperial Delhi. Anyone who has any, I mean any, interest in this subject should buy this book, they will not be disappointed, it is a facinating story of the ultimate colonial power and its effect on this amazing country called India. I will have this book in my collection forever and if you knew me you would know that this is high praise indeed.

Come on. How can you critique someone who is translating ancient tantric text on the Goddess Tara? If someone is up to the task, bravo! And this dude is so CUTE...just look at him...you can see the light shining out of him!

After having read the book from cover to cover at least 3 times - I must say without doubt that it is indeed one of the best books available - not just on Tara, the great Mother Goddess / Bodhisattva embodying Lord Buddha's great skilful and active compassion - but also on Tibetan Buddhism and Buddhism in general - it provides accurate sadhana / practice texts on Tara at the end; provides accurate translation of Tara's popular Buddhist tantra in the content part of the book; especially, a wonderful translation of Tara's 21 Praises - one of the most popular ever - all my recommendation and congratulations to anyone who bought and read the book !

This book is very thorough. At first I thought it was just too much information, however, after extracting the material I really wanted, I now find myself going back to get more into the details. It is a great book!

This book, India Fortunes, and the previous volume, India Treasures, are the best historical fiction I have read yet about India. These two novels cover an amazing scope of the history of India with a series of "short" stories within a main story set in the mid 1970's. These stories flow beautifully on their own, as well as, part of the whole. It is truly hard to put these books down because each story captivates you. In talking with those who know the culture of India better than I do, they agree that these stories are quite insightful. I recommend you read both volumes in order starting with India Treasures.

Also available in a hardcover format (0970766211, $26.95), Gary Worthington's India Fortunes is an impressively written novel of political struggle and a hunt for treasure spanning centuries of East Indian history. Colorfully and dramatically presented, offering a compelling and original tale of clashing tensions, enhanced with reflections on profound events of history, and revealing the corruptive and seductive lure of power, India Fortunes is an absorbing and superbly written historical saga. Also highly recommended is Gary Worthington's previous novel, India Treasures.

A sweeping tale that covers a govern-ment's quest for the treasures of a previous regime, told through parallel flashbacks of the treasure's concealment. Strong writing, sympathetic characters, and a thoroughly intriguing location make this a book to seek on the shelves.

The plain title does not begin to do justice to the richness and diversity of the contents. The numerous lightly sepia-toned photographs, many full-page and one a panoramic fold-out, are especially handsome as well as informative as to Indian buildings, royalty and their traditional wear, ordinary Indians, ruins, and landscapes and nature scenes. But even with these, the book is more than only a distinctive album of vintage photos of India. Essays by art historians and critics go into various aspects of the project engaged in by native Indians and colonial British to record India in all its diversity and foreignness with the new device of the camera, as if to preserve India before it would be touched by the machinery and pace of the modern world.

Different native and colonial photographers were attracted to different aspects of India during the decades covered. Some concentrated on pictures of different ethnic groups; some on portraits of royalty; while others recorded the British administrative and military presence. With essays on several of the leading photographers, the book is also a survey of the field of photographic work done in India in the mid to late 1800s and into the early 1900s. Thus, "India Through the Lens" can be appreciated both for its exceptional, engaging photographs and as a introduction to the subject of photography in India.

A visual reference of museum quality for researchers, or just people interested in this country.

This book accompanies an exhibition of photography collection of India for the period 1840-1911. These images are produced more than hundred years ago, during the early ages after photography was invented. Indian and foreigner found photography as magic, when using their camera to capture the surrounding environment to image. It covers powerful images about landscapes, people, architecture, etc from India.

the collection of these rare pictures of the time of british raj in india is gorgeous. reading this book is like visiting a museum. brilliant job done

what i like about this book firstly, is that its not an intellectual exercise of analyzing tons of theses, etc., but shaped by personal experiences in india over many years, meeting people from different walks of life from all over india. to me, a book about india should be grounded in its earth and in humility, because the real india is several things at once and full of apparent contradictions - for me, thats a key differentiator between this book and say, amartya sen's Arg.Ind essays/diatribes thats twice as long, but i fell asleep after the first few pages.

i dont agree with some of tully's ideas, but i used to firmly disagree with some of those ideas before i read this book; now i know, i cant be "sure for sure". thats why this book is so important. it humbly asks for balance and the need to avoid extremes, be in far-left pseudo-secularism, or far-right fundamentalism. these ideas are valid not just for india, but for the entire world.

This is an excellent book by Mark Tully and represents the net result of a lifetime of reporting in the subcontinent. The author does a very fine job of contrasting the fundamental differences between the Indian and the western tradition. Being a Britisher born and having spent most of his life in India, Mr.Tully is the perfect person to write about East vs West. He touches all aspects of human life and culture in a succinct manner giving the reader a wonderful perspective on the Indian way. Though a little simplistic at times, I came out with a better appreciation for the role of tradition and uncertainty after reading this book as well as a fresh view point about Indian civilization. Right in the foot steps of 'The Argumentative Indian' by Amartya Sen, I think this book is a very fine contribution of to the ongoing debate about the idea of India.

Most Indians and Indophiles are familiar with Mark Tully, who worked for long out of Delhi as BBC's correspondent. In the process, he fell in love with the country, and ended up settling down in India permanently.

This book is a kind of personal journey for him. The narrative is rather tentative, and covers a lot of ground. He weaves back and forth between UK and India, and offers quite a few valuable insights about religion, politics and culture of the two countries. UK is not treated independently, but more as a kind of foil to India. The book's 11 chapters are placed in various towns that he visited, which also serve as a kind of cultural emblem for what he is going to talk about in a particular chapter.

He also shares a lot of personal details, his trials, tribulations, anecdotes and triumphs. Being a journalist with a highly respected Channel, he had access to almost everyone in India. It goes without saying that his narrative is very sympathetic to Indian culture and the 'Indian way of dong things'. However, it is also reasonably balanced, so that it does not become a gushing, sentimental kind of nonsense about how great everything about India is.

Some of his comments are quite perceptive - for instance, about how India always tries to find a balance between extremes, a middle (middling?) way of doing things. He believes this is one of India's keys to longevity as a civilization.

Well, he is certainly right that this search for a balance, of avoiding the extremes, is almost an unwritten, unbreakable law in India. My late father often used to say 'ati sarvatha varjayet' - excess is to be avoided always / everywhere. And this philosophy gradually worked its way into my conscience, so that now the extreme option is always automatically renounced in favor of the moderate one.

In fact, in India, the term 'extremist' is often used as a political pejorative and is more popular than fundamentalist or terrorist, though it includes both these categories as well. Similarly, 'atyachar' which literally means 'extreme behaviour' is used to signify inhuman behaviour.

This is a book you can soak into. However, it will not make a conscious, discernible impact on you. The book is too wispy for that, too much like a mild fragrance, one of those extremely expensive perfumes, which only leave behind a tantalizing suggestion. I read it only last month, and already I have forgotten what were the key points that Tully made. Perhaps he didn't make any at all. May be he made many. He doesn't try to convince you or sell you his viewpoint - he merely shares his views. And that does really mean that he has become more Indian than many of us (see for example, Amartya Sen's The Argumentative Indian: Writings on Indian History, Culture and Identity).

The hardcover edition issued by Rider (Random House group) has been printed and bound in India. The book is fairly easy to carry, and easier to read, because of good paper and printing. Of course, Tully's light, conversational style adds to the ease of reading.

All in all, an enjoyable, readable book - much more perceptive and interesting than his previous India in Slow Motion (India in Slow Motion), which was more task-oriented.