India Books

Mary Ellen Mark likes to go deep into her subject matter. This is a unique record of the fast-vanishing world of the Big Top Circus - Indian style! The circus was imported into India from Europe in 1880. Although it is a rare commodity today in Europe, it continues to exist in pockets of the subcontinent, having changed little over the decades. However, with rapid globalization, it is but a matter of time before this art becomes extinct. As a collector of documentary photography, I can attest that this book is one of the finest examples of the medium.

Mary Ellen Mark is an outstanding photographer. This is among her best work. Her superb technique complements her incisive portraiture. She has studied the circuses of India carefully and captured something of the soul of her subjects. Many of the performers that she photographs are young, and for all intents and purposes are indentured servants. Their lives are filled with pathos, but also with immense pride in what they do. It is impossible not to be moved by this wonderful book. I recommend it highly.

After ataking the class in Philadelphia,this offers information,that compliments class taken.It would also be good to have if interested in massage.

As a Massage Therapist, I work using the technique described in this book and also run courses in teaching the technique, I found this book a wonderful read, it is very simply laid out - beautifully presented and very easy to follow for both the practised practitioner and also for anyone interested in the art of massage for use on their loved ones.

The slides in this book are all in color which is great. Even though it says from cave temples to the colonial period there is not much on the earlier cave temple times. I think it serves more as background information on the Mughal period art. Of which, the book focuses on with a brief look at some 20th century pieces. Overall it is a good read with analysis of the work it contains. A very nice museum collection. Well worth it!

Over a hundred examples of Indian painting history and styles, in full color, grace the pages of INDIAN PAINTING FROM CAVE TEMPLES TO THE COLONIAL PERIOD, a far-reaching survey of illustrations selected for their ability to reach the non-artist, non-Indian-specialist viewer. A history of Indian painting styles and trends covers scriptures, music-inspired images, and historical renditions while full-page color selections liberally dose almost every page. Over a hundred works from the MFA's holdings make for an exceptional presentation.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Most critics and scholars, especially in the west often dismiss and even ridicule popular Indian cinema owing to its idiosyncratic musical format, melodrama and playing to the gallery. This book provides a refreshing counter-argument, while analysing how popular cinema has affected the way of life in India, and how it might be significant to a western audience.

The book is well-researched and very enjoyable. Without going into too much details about specific films, it tries to highlight the trends and unique genres developed in Indian films over a century. Having grown up on Hindi movies all my life, I found the book interesting, but I think it is more relevant to the western audience. It provides a good introduction and starting point to those just discovering the magical world of Hindi movies.

For those who are into in-depth study of Indian cinema, I recommend "Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema" by Ashish Rajadhyaksha and Paul Willeman.

A knowledgeable and affectionate look at 90 years of Indian cinema, the cultural values it portrays and the influence it has had on the evolution of modern Indian society. I enjoyed it immensely and strongly recommend it both to cinema buffs everywhere and to all those interested in better understanding the complex web of traditions, prejudices and feelings that make India a compulsive focus of attraction to travellers and observers of social change.

I can't decide who loved this book more, me or my children! Together we have read many of the stories over and over again.

This is a book that is both insightful and fun. The stories are simple and straightforward but also carry deeper meanings and significance.

Plus the illustrations are a bonus! They paint a rich and descriptive picture of the Indian subcontinent.

"Damayanti and Nala," the love story was my favorite.

Well done Nanji.

Book Review

Title: Indian Tales
Author: Shenaaz Nanji
Illustrator: Christopher Corr
Publisher: Barefoot Books
ISBN: 978-1-84686-083-6
Review By: Diana Rohini LaVigne, Indian Life & Style Magazine

Vibrant. Alluring. Brilliant. Indian Tales by Shenaaz Nanji and illustrated by Christopher Corr is a phenomenal collection of daily life stories from different regions of India. Each section takes on the personality of the region and brings forward the colors and imagery from that region's lifestyle and legends.

Together the collection of stories weave a beautifully written work of art that will delight children and adults alike. From the tale of the young drummer boy named Gopal to the royal narrative about the princess Damayanti, Indian Tales delivers a book filled with information, poetry and culturally-rich images that promise to enchant adolescent readers.

It is a book that begs to be read and reread over and over again. Nanji does a superior job winning the interest of readers and keeping them coming back from more. Readers will explore deeper into the regions with each read and images will continue to reinforce the information learned. Indian Tales is an important piece of cultural literature and should be on the top of wish lists for schools and libraries around the global.

This book is a collection of letters between Indian soldiers and their families in the First World War, translated into English from the various languages in which they were originally written. Many thousands of soldiers from what was then the British Empire fought for the Allies in WW1, and a large number of them came from India--Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims. They had enlisted for traditional warfare in South Asia, and nothing could have prepared them for what they found when they arrived in the trenches of the Western Front. Their accounts of their experiences are fascinating, powerful and moving. David Omissi, the editor, provides an excellent introduction and gives useful background information. I strongly recommend this book.

Based as this book is on the letters sent home by Indian soldiers on the 'western front' during World War I, it gives a true picture of the actual war conditions which must have come as a great surprise to these combatants who had never been outside India and did not even know what they were fighting for. The majority of these soldiers came from northern areas of India which are now in Pakistan. Once in France, they were immediately taken aback by the goodwill and lack of prejudice in contrast to what they were
accustomed to at the hands of their British masters in India. This is expressed again and again in several letters. They were surprised also at the attitude of their British mentors who behaved so differently in their own country and almost treated them as equals. Today we find it surprising that these soldiers would be willing to lay their lives on behalf of their foreign masters for a few dollars a month, to be gassed and blinded, buried in swamps, without even knowing the actual causes of
the War or the consequences if the other side had come out as victors.
Such was their innocence! This book can very engrossing for those interested in the First World War, as the expressive letters very clearly
portray the feelings of wounded soldiers afraid to go back to the front a second time.

My dad has about 10 copies if this book, and I recently picked up one. Although neither of us are particularly fluent in German, we both enjoyed it immensely. Highly recommend!!

This book is excellent. My dad has 4 copies, and he loves them all. Highly recommended!!!

This is a stupendously good book for those with any interest in the 3 phases of Buddhist development--the early period of the Buddha and his disciples and the so-called "Old Wisdom" phase of Buddhism, the Mahayana phase, and, especially, the rise of Vajrayana/Tantrayana/Mantrayana. This last phase is what Snellgrove specializes in and he has done an impressive job of presenting his vast erudition to the reader.

Many people will come to Snellgrove's Indo-Tibetan Buddhism specifically due to their interest in and perhaps practice of Vajrayana Buddhism of the Tibetan variety and will be most drawn to the book's Part V on Buddhism's introduction to Tibet and its flourishing in that land.

But many of us, interested in the precise details and mysterious enigmas of the formative period of Tantric (Vajrayana) Buddhism as it arose in India, will find Snellgrove's very long Part III on the rise and complex development of Vajrayana to be SUPERLATIVE--probably the best overall treatment of this multi-faceted topic in the English language. (Note: Part III is pp. 117-303 in the Shambhala 2002 revised, single-volume edition, and so, at over 180 pages, not including many other references to tantra elsewhere, and maps, footnotes [so much easier to read than endnotes!], etc., represents a book-length treatise on just this one topic.)

Snellgrove knows **many** of the few dozen most important of the early, middle, and late Buddhist tantras in their original languages, and offers lengthy quotes from the most relevant passages in each of these tantras to illustrate or back up a point he is making in his text. He is, truly, one of the world's experts on Buddhist tantra, and explores interesting themes and discrepancies I've not seen with any other writers on the topic, even the prodigious Alex Wayman (not to mention younger writers like Thurman, Hopkins, et al.).

Moreover, he brings a candor to the topics at hand, showing how the Buddhist tantras diverge on important topics, such as the specific Deities in the 3- and 5- and 6-Buddha families, and on the controversies over whether sexual yoga and the offering of "foul" sacramental ingredients are to be literally enacted or performed only symbolically. He also demolishes the later Tibetan idea that any of these tantras can really be hierarchically ordered according the the well-known (but dubiously based) "four classes" (Action Class, Performance Class, Yoga Class, and Highest Yoga Class tantras).

I could go on and on about this wonderful Part III, which is so filled with delightful surprises and riveting insights. If one has ANY interest in Buddhist tantra and likes a writer who doesn't "dumb down" his subject matter but goes into the rich details on a wide array of topics connected with tantra, then just this Part III alone is worth the price of the book.

But then one also gets with this book all its other parts, such as Part IV's information-rich treatment of Buddhism as it developed in Central Asia and Nepal, and Part V on the schools of Buddhism in Tibet.

Get the book and learn something from an expert (and non-apologist) about the crucial set of developments in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism.

I recommand this book for one who want a good reference book on Tibetan Buddhism. This book is imformative and has a reasonably comprehensive coverage on all the most important areas in Tibetan Buddhism. This book is certainly a good bargain and has a good "useful information per dollar" ratio, especially when compared to many other books in the market.
This book has also been referred to and cited by many other scholars and is a respected authority in this area.

This is a multi-authored book... many short essays accompanied by the best photojournalism of the Soeharto period.
From the front matter:
Editors: John H. McGlynn, Oscar Motuloh, Suzanne Charlé, Jeffrey Hadler, Bambang Bujono, Margaret
Glade-Agusta and Gedsiri Suhartono.
Other contributions: A.H. Nasution, Ajip Rosidi, Arief Budiman, Arswendo Atmowiloto, Asmara Nababan,
Benny Subianto, Chris Siner Key Timu, David Bouchier, Douglas Ramage, Emmy Hafild, Eros Djarot,
Feisal Ismail, Gerry van Klinken, H.S. Dillon, Hardoyo, Hermawan Sulistyo, Ignas Kleden, J.
Soedradjad Djiwandono, J.R.G. Jopari, João M. Saldanha, Joseph Adi Prasetyo, Joshua Barker, Jusuf
Wanandi, Juwono Sudarsono, Kartomo Mohamad, Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão, Loren Ryter, Miriam Budiardjo,
Moerdiono, Mohamad Sadli, Ong Hokham, Pramoedya Ananta Toer, Putu Suasta, R.B. Soehartono, Ridwan
Saidi, Sabam Sirait, Saskia Wieringa, Sidney Jones, Sri Soemantri, Tinuk Yampolsky, Ulil
Abshar-Abdallah, Yusuf Hasyim.
With an introduction by Taufik Abdullah, a preface by Goenawan Mohamad and a foreword by President
Jimmy Carter.
Oversized book and plenty of text and illustrations for your money.

There are no countries with out tragedy. We have our own today. Perhaps Indonesia has had more than its share. This is a remarkable book. Fifty essays, 125 photographers, 500 historical photographs. No book published exists like it on such an important subject as Indonesia. I have travelled extensively through Indonesia and I am never ceased to be amazed at the kindness of the people and the beauty of the country even against such odds.

Insight Guide Bali is an exceptional travel guide. The history is well written and rich with interesting facts. I reads like a good novel. The maps are deteiled with plenty of cross references. There are plenty of travel tips from riding a bus to how to order food without MSGS. It appears that every possible travel issue has been addressed; from how not to get arrested to finding the swank resorts. The book is worth the price just for the exquisite pictures. I have never seen a travel book with photos as exceptional as these. Usually I purchase a couple of guide books before going to a new location, but this time I will only use the Insight Guide Bali.

I read the history background like a novel. The cultural information such as the drama, the dances, the religion, the art etc. is great. The photos are great too. I am back from Bali and I just take this book with me.