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India: Rajasthan

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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 EXIDA291. Buy these 4 items as a set for $74 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
With free shipping on anything else you order.

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Footprint Rajasthan Handbook

Footprint Rajasthan Handbook

by Matt Barrett

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 352 PAGES

This wonderfully informative guide in the practical Footprint series includes background information on the his-tory, attractions and culture of Rajasthan. (IDA267, $24.95)

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)

India

India

by Stanley Wolpert

  • HISTORY
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 281 PAGES

Reflections on India -- religion and philosophy, art, culture, and politics -- by the dean of its American historians: beautifully written, and provocative as well as evocative. (IDA04, $24.95)

India West Map

India West Map

by Nelles

  • 2010
  • MAP

A detailed regional map including Delhi, Agra, Jaipur and Rajasthan. Scaled at 1:1,500,000, with insets of Delhi and Mumbai. (IDA73, $13.95)

 
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)

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)

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

As the world's largest democracy and a rising international economic power, India has long been heralded for its great strides in technology and trade. Yet it is also plagued by poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, and a vast array of other social and economic issues. 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, $16.00)

May You Be the Mother of a Hundred Sons, A Journey Among the Women of India

May You Be the Mother of a Hundred Sons, A Journey Among the Women of India


by Elisabeth Bumiller

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 1991
  • PAPER
  • 220 PAGES

A wonderfully written and fascinating portrayal of Indian women from Bollywood stars to Indira Gandhi to prostitutes. It's an insightful portrait of the country as seen through the eyes of its women. (IDA37, $14.95)

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)

Royal Rajasthan

Royal Rajasthan


by Kishore Singh

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2008
  • HARD COVER
  • 192 PAGES

With 250 aerial photographs, interiors of princely palaces and archival images, this lavish book celebrates Rajasthan's landscapes, natural beauty and royal history. (IDA530, $39.95)

The Idea of India

The Idea of India


by Sunil Khilnani

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 1999
  • PAPER
  • 263 PAGES

Khilnani confronts the complexities, paradoxes and challenges of the nation in this brief, elegant survey of India since independence. (IDA160, $17.00)

Indian Art

Indian Art


by Vidya Dehejia

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 448 PAGES

A beautifully illustrated, very readable history of Indian art and architecture. It considers the religious and intellectual contexts of three thousand years of Indian art, including the modern era. (IDA185, $27.95)

A Princess Remembers, The Memoirs of the Maharani of Jaipur

A Princess Remembers, The Memoirs of the Maharani of Jaipur


by Devi Gayatri

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 1996
  • PAPER
  • 408 PAGES
  • HARD TO FIND ELSEWHERE

The memoirs of an extraordinary life. Widow of the Maharaja of Jaipur, member of parliament and a fascinating character, Gayatri recalls growing up in the palace compound, marrying the Maharaja, her political triumphs and work on behalf of education in India. (IDA149, $39.95)

An Autobiography, Or the Story of My Experiments with Truth

An Autobiography, Or the Story of My Experiments with Truth


by Mohandas K. Gandhi

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 1995
  • PAPER
  • 480 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, $10.95)

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)

Empires of the Indus, The Story of a River

Empires of the Indus, The Story of a River


by Alice Albinia

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 368 PAGES

Albinia follows the great river from Pakistan upstream and back in time, tracing 2,000 miles of geography and five millennia of history. (PKN25, $16.95)

Travels on My Elephant

Travels on My Elephant


by Mark Shand

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 1998
  • PAPER

A compelling tale of an 800-mile journey across India on the back of a 30-year-old elephant named Tara, this enjoyable tale of adventure features vivid descriptions of the countryside and people. (IDA08, $16.95)

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 classic novel 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)

The White Tiger, A Novel

The White Tiger, A Novel


by Aravind Adiga

  • LITERATURE
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 288 PAGES

Mordant, funny, angry, horrifying, this Booker Prize-winning tale of a village pauper turned success (and murderer) skewers the ambition, inequity and corruption of 21st-century India. (IDA542, $15.00)

Camel

Camel


by Robert Irwin

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 224 PAGES

Camel joins Cat, Dog, Parrot and Penguin in this droll series by Reaktion Books in Britain, which pairs inspired authors with iconic animals. In this latest, Robert 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)

Wild India, The Wildlife of India and Nepal

Wild India, The Wildlife of India and Nepal


by Guy Mountefort | Gerald Cubitt

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 208 PAGES

An informative introduction to the natural history of the region in a handsome oversize volume. With hundreds of extraordinary photographs of the wildlife and landscapes of the Himalayas, the Indo-Ganges Plain and the Deccan. (IDA02, $29.95)

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)

Birds of Northern India

Birds of Northern India


by Richard Grimmett | Carol Inskipp

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 304 PAGES

A regional field guide to 180 species of birds, with 120 stunning color plates and condensed descriptive information, integrated on facing pages for easy reference in the field. (IDA222, $35.00)

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.