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India: Rajasthan

READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE

  • E-MAIL
  • PRINT

Enrich your travels with reading! Here's a hand-picked list prepared for your journey in conjunction with the book experts at Longitude.

Essential Reading

Item EXIDA361. Buy these 4 items as a set for $73 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
With free shipping on anything else you order.

ADD SET
TO BOOKBAG
Dreaming in Hindi, Coming Awake in Another Language

Dreaming in Hindi, Coming Awake in Another Language

by Katherine Russell Rich

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 384 PAGES
  • NEW

Rich skewers the hilarity and challenges of taking on not just a new language but also a new culture in this spirited tale of life in Udaipur. (IDA565, $14.95)

India

India

by Stanley Wolpert

  • HISTORY
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 281 PAGES

Wolpert's reflections on India -- its religion and philosophy, its art, culture and politics -- make for a wonderfully literate, succinct primer. (IDA04, $26.95)

Lonely Planet Rajasthan, Delhi & Agra

Lonely Planet Rajasthan, Delhi & Agra

by Abigail Hole

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 388 PAGES

A practical guide to Rajasthan, featuring 36 maps, a good overview of culture, history and nature, and plenty of information on excursions, accommodations and sightseeing. (IDA238, $24.99)

India Northwest Adventure Map

India Northwest Adventure Map

by National Geographic

  • 2011
  • MAP

A double-sided full color map of Northwest India at a scale of 1:1,400,000 printed on waterproof, tear-resistant paper. (IDA73, $11.95)

 
India Adventure Map

India Adventure Map


by National Geographic Society

  • 2011
  • MAP

The most detailed shaded relief map (at a scale of 1:2,100,000) of India available. (IDA18, $12.95)

Culture Smart! India

Culture Smart! India


by Becky Stephen

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 168 PAGES

A concise, well-illustrated guide to both social and business customs in India. (IDA298, $9.95)

Lonely Planet India Phrasebook

Lonely Planet India Phrasebook


by Omkar Koul

  • LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 398 PAGES

A handy palm-sized guide. (IDA538, $10.99)

Eating India, An Odyssey into the Food and Culture of the Land of Spices

Eating India, An Odyssey into the Food and Culture of the Land of Spices


by Chitrita Banerji

  • FOOD
  • 2007
  • HARD COVER
  • 304 PAGES

Award-winning food writer and Bengali food expert Banerjii takes readers on a marvelous journey through the traditions, origins and ingredients of Indian cuisine. (IDA375, $24.95)

In Spite of the Gods, The Strange Rise of Modern India

In Spite of the Gods, The Strange Rise of Modern India


by Edward Luce

  • HISTORY
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 346 PAGES

Luce tackles the challenges and reality of the world's largest democracy with insight and balance in this portrait of a nation in transition. (IDA349, $16.95)

Monumental India

Monumental India


by Amit Pasricha

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2008
  • HARD COVER
  • 224 PAGES

Pasricha's dramatic photographs show the splendor and variety of Northern India, from Hindu and Jain temple complexes, imposing Islamic tombs and mosques, to serene Buddhist monasteries and stupas, colonial and royal palaces and majestic forts. (IDA588, $175.00)

Mughal India, Splendours of the Peacock Throne

Mughal India, Splendours of the Peacock Throne


by Valerie Berinstain | Paul Bahn

  • HISTORY
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 159 PAGES

This illustrated pocket guide presents the history, culture and splendor of the Mughal court and its celebrated architecture in hundreds of archival photographs and drawings. (IDA50, $15.95)

The Decline and Fall of the British Empire, 1781-1997

The Decline and Fall of the British Empire, 1781-1997


by Piers Brendon

  • HISTORY
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 848 PAGES

Piers weaves anecdote, well-known tales of imperial misstep and important historical moments in this vivid account of empire. (GBR920, $21.00)

Darsan, Seeing the Divine Image in India

Darsan, Seeing the Divine Image in India


by Diana L. Eck

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 115 PAGES

Tremendously useful for the traveler, this rigorous guide explains the significance and meaning of Hindu temples, festivals and ritual. Darsan, which translates as "seeing", reveals religious expression in India. (IDA75, $25.00)

Hindu Art and Architecture

Hindu Art and Architecture


by George Michell

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 224 PAGES

An excellent survey of Hindu art and architecture, explaining the meaning and construction of principal images and buildings, as well as the development of Hinduism and the corpus of myths that have influenced its artistic tradition. (IDA147, $19.95)

Gandhi, An Autobiography, or the Story of My Experiments with Truth

Gandhi, An Autobiography, or the Story of My Experiments with Truth


by Mohandas K. Gandhi

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 1993
  • PAPER
  • 528 PAGES

There is no substitute for reading Gandhi in his own simple, direct prose. A highly recommended glimpse into the personality and life of this remarkable figure. (IDA163, $16.00)

Nine Lives, In Search of the Sacred in Modern India

Nine Lives, In Search of the Sacred in Modern India


by William Dalrymple

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

From Sufi dervish and Buddhist monk to outcast and temple worshiper: nine people, nine lives, all captured by Dalrymple as he journeys throughout India in search of remarkable individuals transformed by religion. At turns bemusing, dazzling and heart-wrenching, this is his first travel book in 15 years. (IDA587, $16.00)

India, A Traveler's Literary Companion

India, A Traveler's Literary Companion


by Chandrahas Choudhury

  • ANTHOLOGY
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

Each of these 14 stories evokes place and landscape, providing an excellent introduction both to contemporary writers and to India's diverse cultures and history. (IDA598, $14.95)

Kim

Kim


by Rudyard Kipling

  • LITERATURE
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 432 PAGES

For the sheer pleasure of its prose, insight into the British in India and its extraordinary sense of place, you can't do better than Kipling's Great Game classic about a boy who travels the Grand Trunk Road with the Dalai Lama. (IDA65, $9.00)

Midnight's Children

Midnight's Children


by Salman Rushdie

  • LITERATURE
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 533 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

Crowned Best of the Booker in 2008, Rushdie's greatest novel is a madcap, comic take on the birth of modern India in all its splendid and unexpected manifestations. (IDA12, $16.00)

Untouchable

Untouchable


by Mulk Raj Anand | E. M. Forster

  • LITERATURE
  • 1990
  • PAPER
  • 160 PAGES

Referred to by some as his nation's answer to Charles Dickens, the author tackles India's caste system with urgency and conviction. (IDA180, $13.00)

Camel

Camel


by Robert Irwin

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 224 PAGES

Irwin traces the camel from its origins to its role in the development of Arabic society to the present -- including the plight of camel herders in Darfur and its endangered status in Mongolia and China -- in this illustrated, informed survey of the camel and its role in society and history. (BST149, $19.95)

Birds of India

Birds of India


by Richard Grimmett | Carol Inskipp | Tim Inskipp

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2012
  • PAPER
  • 384 PAGES

Thoroughly revised, with 73 new plates and many others updated or repainted, the second edition of the masterful Birds of India now features all maps and text opposite the plates for quicker and easier reference. (FG43, $39.50)

More Recommendations

Here are some other groups of books that might be of interest

Longitude provides recommended reading for travelers in partnership with the leading tour operators and travel programs for hundreds of destinations worldwide. We've got the classic, new and hard-to-find books and maps to help you get the most out of your adventures.