Suggested Reading
Choose a Region
Polar Regions
North America
Middle America
South America
Northern Europe
Southern Europe
Mediterranean
Middle East
Africa
Central & East Asia
South Asia
Southeast Asia
Australia & The Pacific
Advanced
Search
Best of 2008
Globes
Mysteries
Favorites
For the Whole Family
ABOUT US
The Business
The People
SMALL PRINT
Ordering
Shipping
Customer
Service
Visiting
INDIA
India
|
READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE
We feature a handpicked selection of travel guides, maps, literature, books on art, nature and culture, all designed to help you get more out of your travels to India. Order an essential package, and we'll ship any additional items for free.
These
5
items are available for
$81
, including
U.S. shipping, a
15%
discount (Item no. EXIDA105A)
E-mail
Print
Select
Item
Insight Guide India
Insight Guides
GUIDEBOOK 2007 PAPER 432 PAGES
A volume in the award-winning Insight series, this guide is noted for its wonderful photography, full-color maps, superb production and informative short essays on contemporary topics such as India's movie industry, language, and cuisine. It includes introductions to the major temples, forts, and wildlife sites, as well as background on each region, and plenty of photos and maps. A well illustrated overview of the culture, history and attractions of the subcontinent for travelers.
(IDA19, $23.95)
India
Stanley Wolpert
HISTORY 2005 PAPER 300 PAGES
BEST SELLER
A wonderfully literate introduction to India by the acknowledged master. Author of 14 books and a professor of history since 1958, Wolpert distills a tremendous amount of information in this detailed overview, tackling the environment, religion and philosophy, the arts and sciences, domestic and foreign policy, and culture.
(IDA04, $21.95)
Malgudi Days
R. K. Narayan Jhumpa Lahiri
LITERATURE 2006 PAPER 272 PAGES
FAVORITE
Wonderful tales about a fictional South Indian town by a beloved Indian writer. Malgudi is a composite of Narayan's two hometowns -- Mysore and Madras -- populated by quirky characters whose unique approaches to tradition and modernity are the stuff of great short stories.
(IDA59, $15.00)
City of Djinns, A Year in Delhi
William Dalrymple
CULTURAL PORTRAIT 2003 PAPER 350 PAGES
FAVORITE
Dalrymple describes his year in Delhi with enormous humor, heart and understanding, skillfully interweaving his own adventures with a solidly researched history of the city and the social forces that have shaped it. A must-read for any curious traveler to Delhi. First published in 1993.
(IDA06, $16.00)
India Map
ITMB
2006 MAP
A double-sided shaded relief map of India at the excellent scale of 1:2,100,000, printed on tear and waterproof paper. With an index, it shows major roads, rivers, and locations of national parks.
(IDA18, $10.95)
Culture Smart! India, A Quick Guide to Customs and Etiquette
Nick Grihault
GUIDEBOOK
A concise, well-illustrated guide to both social and business customs in India.
(IDA298, $9.95)
Eyewitness Guide Delhi, Agra and Jaipur
Anuradha Chaturvedi
GUIDEBOOK
A compact, gorgeously illustrated guide to Delhi and its environs featuring 900 color photographs, maps and site plans.
(IDA151, $25.00)
Hindi, Start Speaking Today!
Educational Services Corporation
LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS
A 90-minute crash course in Hindi featured in two audio tapes and a phrasebook. The course follows the foreign service method, focusing on whole dialogues and sentences.
(IDA142, $21.95)
Lonely Planet India Phrasebook
Omkar Koul
LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS
A hand, palm-sized guide.
(IDA538, $10.99)
Love Bangalore
Love Travel Guides
GUIDEBOOK
This rather remarkable, hand-crafted book, presented in its own satchel of locally woven silk, is a loving, personal guide to singular shops and spas, restaurants, escapes and experiences in and around the city.
(IDA359, $40.00)
Love Mumbai
Love Travel Guides
GUIDEBOOK
This beautifully made, affectionate guide, packaged in its own satchel of locally woven raw silk and printed on hand-made paper, captures the soul of the city, pointing with authority to neighborhoods, shops, markets, restaurants and attractions. The second in the Love Travel Guide series.
(IDA389, $40.00)
Rough Guide India
David Abram
GUIDEBOOK
Geared to the independent traveler, this Rough Guide combines an opinionated survey of culture and history with good information on sightseeing, food and accommodations.
(IDA86, $26.99)
Curry, A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors
Lizzie Collingham
FOOD
This cultural history with recipes is appetizingly organized as a menu (biryani, vindaloo, chai, etc.). Curry explores the origins and spread of Indian food and the interplay between Muslim, Hindu, Portuguese and British traditions on the Subcontinent.
(IDA319, $15.95)
Mangoes & Curry Leaves, Culinary Travels Through the Great Subcontinent
Jeffrey Alford
Naomi Duguid
FOOD
In this latest book the roving, food-loving authors (Hot Sour Salty Sweet) travel the seven countries of the Indian Subcontinent: Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Maldives, collecting not only 200 recipes but also engaging tales of the people, history and adventures. With color photographs of food and places throughout.
(IDA320, $45.00)
Adventures With the Buddha, A Buddhism Reader
Jeffery Paine
RELIGION
Paine chooses nine influential 19th and 20th century western adventurers and their travels in China, Tibet, Nepal and India for this riveting tale of religion, adventure and enlightenment.
(REL12, $16.95)
Arrow of the Blue-Skinned God
Jonah Blank
CULTURAL PORTRAIT
Blank's entertaining portrait of contemporary India and Sri Lanka mixes reporting, travel and myth as he travels, sometimes in the footsteps of India's great hero Rama.
(IDA250, $16.00)
Heaven's Command: An Imperial Progress
Jan Morris
HISTORY
HARD TO FIND ELSEWHERE
A wonderful portrait of early (pre-1897) British colonial rule in India, Central Asia, Africa and elsewhere. Morris weaves historical accounts, character studies, and much imagination into this readable, compelling tale.
(IDA20, $26.00)
In Spite of the Gods, The Strange Rise of Modern India
Edward Luce
HISTORY
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, $14.95)
India
Paula Regan
CULTURAL PORTRAIT
Encyclopedic in scope, this lavishly illustrated primer documents the landscape, history, culture, architecture and daily life of India.
(IDA517, $40.00)
India and the Mughal Dynasty
Valerie Berinstain
Paul Bahn
HISTORY
Lavishly illustrated, this pocket guide presents the history, culture and splendor of the Mughal court and its celebrated architecture.
(IDA50, $12.95)
India Unveiled
Robert Arnett
CULTURAL PORTRAIT
A celebration of the people, landscapes and traditional culture of India, organized regionally and featuring 268 beautiful color photographs. It's a revealing, insightful portrait of the country combining history, geography and travelogue.
(IDA107, $55.00)
India, A Celebration in Word and Image
Eric Meola
CULTURAL PORTRAIT
Meolo deftly pairs his impossibly colorful photographs of the people, traditions, art and architecture of India with choice quotations in this dazzling visual celebration.
(IDA540, $60.00)
India, A Mosaic
Robert B. Silvers
Barbara Epstein
HISTORY
A collection of nine exemplary essays from the New York Review of books that tackle the issues of contemporary India's culture, politics and society.
(IDA153, $14.95)
India, A Wounded Civilization
V.S. Naipaul
CULTURAL PORTRAIT
A vivid and unsentimental cultural portrait that draws together conversations with Indians, news reports, politics and literature, paying particular attention to the Hindu confrontation with the West.
(IDA224, $12.95)
India: Land of Dreams and Fantasy
Doranne Jacobson
CULTURAL PORTRAIT
COMING IN OCTOBER
This large-format hardbound volume features 300 color photographs and informative essays on India's history, religions, architecture, rural wonders, urban glories, handicrafts, rituals, festivals and daily life.
(IDA32, $29.95)
May You Be the Mother of a Hundred Sons, A Journey Among the Women of India
Elisabeth Bumiller
CULTURAL PORTRAIT
A wonderfully written, 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)
Meeting God, Elements of Hindu Devotion
Thomas Moore
Stephen Huyler
RELIGION
A stunningly photographed introduction to the rituals and daily devotion of contemporary Hinduism in India. A companion to the traveling exhibition "Puja, Expressions of Hindu Devotion."
(IDA132, $24.00)
Taj Mahal, Passion and Genius at the Heart of the Moghul Empire
Diana Preston
Michael Preston
HISTORY
A vivid narrative history of the creation of the Taj Mahal, a memorial created by Moghul emperor Shah Jahan for his beloved wife.
(IDA340, $16.95)
The Argumentative Indian: Writings on Indian History, Culture and Identity
Amartya Sen
HISTORY
Sen celebrates India's diversity of religious beliefs, customs and democratic traditions in these provocative, erudite essays.
(IDA346, $15.00)
The Empire of the Great Mughals: History, Art and Culture
Annemarie Schimmel
HISTORY
In this richly illustrated cultural history, Schimmel sketches daily life in the Mughal Court (1526-1707) and its impact on art, culture and religion.
(IDA325, $29.95)
The Idea of India
Sunil Khilnani
CULTURAL PORTRAIT
Khilnani confronts the complexities, paradoxes and challenges of the nation in this short, elegant survey of India since independence.
(IDA160, $15.00)
The Last Mughal, The Fall of a Dynasty: Delhi, 1857
William Dalrymple
HISTORY
The riveting tale of the poet, mystic and Mughal Emperor Shah Zafar II and mid 19th century Delhi, culminating in the 1857 Indian Rebellion.
(IDA350, $16.95)
Hindu Art and Architecture
George Michell
ART & ARCHITECTURE
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, $18.95)
Indian Art, A Concise History
Roy C. Craven
ART & ARCHITECTURE
This convenient volume in the acclaimed "World of Art" series is a crisp, illustrated overview of the range of Indian art over the centuries.
(IDA16, $18.95)
Taj Mahal
M.C. Joshi
Jean-Louis Nou
Amina Okada
ART & ARCHITECTURE
This lavish portrait features 158 full-color photographs (including four magnificent foldout panels) by Jean-Louis Nou. He balances grand exterior and panoramic views with detailed photographs of filigreed inscriptions and bejeweled floral mosaics.
(IDA108, $75.00)
The Royal Palaces of India
George Michell
Antonio Martinelli
ART & ARCHITECTURE
OUT OF PRINT
An architectural survey of Hindu and Muslim fortresses and royal residences from the 12th century to the days of British colonial rule -- well-informed, comprehensive and handsomely illustrated with 250 color photographs.
(IDA74, $39.95)
The Taj Mahal
Giles Tillotson
ART & ARCHITECTURE
COMING IN NOVEMBER
More than a richly illustrated history, though it is that as well, this book is an eloquent meditation on the place of the Taj Mahal in the cultural imagination of India and the wider world.
(IDA528, $19.95)
An Autobiography, Or the Story of My Experiments with Truth
Mohandas K. Gandhi
BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
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)
Slowly Down the Ganges
Eric Newby
TRAVEL NARRATIVE
In 1963, the author and his wife set out an a 1,200-mile voyage down the Ganges River. The title could apply as easily to the ruminative attitude Newby takes towards his journey as to the many mishaps which bedevil the quest.
(IDA179, $14.95)
Hindu Myths
Wendy Doniger
ANTHOLOGY
A sourcebook, translated from the Sanskrit, this anthology is drawn from editor and University of Chicago professor Doniger's courses on Hinduism and mythology.
(IDA347, $16.00)
Mirrorwork, 50 Years of Indian Writing 1947-1997
Salman Rushdie
Elizabeth West
ANTHOLOGY
A selection of twentieth-century Indian prose, both fiction and non-fiction, compiled by Salman Rushdie and featuring work by Jawaharlal Nehru, R.K. Narayan, Satyajit Ray, Amit Chaudhuri, and Vikram Seth. Published in celebration of 50 years of independence.
(IDA293, $17.00)
Travelers' Tales India
James O'Reilly
Larry Habegger
ANTHOLOGY
A collection of 45 descriptive and thought-provoking short excerpts on Indian life and culture, including contributions from Rushdie, Naipaul and Dalrymple, plus some valuable excerpts from books long out of print.
(IDA05, $19.95)
A Fine Balance
Rohinton Mistry
LITERATURE
FAVORITE
Set in Indira Gandhi's "emergency Raj" of 1975 in an unnamed Indian "city by the sea," which bears a striking resemblance to Bombay, this tender novel follows the intermingled fortunes of a Parsi widow, her boarder and two tailors.
(IDA92, $15.95)
Bhagavad Gita, A New Translation
Stephen Mitchell
LITERATURE
A lyrical translation and introduction to the Gita, an ancient Hindu poem. Mitchell's translation aims for the literary qualities of the original.
(IDA170, $13.95)
Gods, Demons and Others
R. K. Narayan
R.K. Laxman
LITERATURE
Hindu stories freely adapted by Narayan, one of India's foremost writers. They include tales both highly readable and revealing of Indian Hindu traditions, some drawn from the Ramayana and the Mahabarata.
(IDA101, $21.00)
Kim
Rudyard Kipling
LITERATURE
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, $7.00)
Midnight's Children
Salman Rushdie
LITERATURE
FAVORITE
A madcap, comic take on the birth of modern India in all its many splendid and unexpected manifestations, Rushdie's greatest novel was recently crowned "Best of the the Booker." The title refers to those, like the narrator, born at the stroke of midnight August 15, 1947.
(IDA12, $14.95)
Sea of Poppies
Amitav Ghosh
LITERATURE
Ghosh conjures the tumult of the 19th-century Opium Wars and colonial India in this expansive tale, featuring a motley cast of British, Chinese and Indian characters.
(IDA529, $26.00)
Season of the Monsoon
Paul Mann
MYSTERY
Inspector George Sansi, police detective in Bombay, investigates murder in Bollywood in the thrilling, chilling series debut, originally published in 1993.
(IDA384, $14.95)
Shantaram, A Novel
David Gregory Roberts
LITERATURE
This epic page-turner, a bestseller in Australia, revolves around the exploits of a young Australian man at large in the streets of 1980s Bombay.
(IDA395, $14.95)
The Bhagavad-Gita, Krishna's Counsel in Time of War
Barbara Stoler Miller
LITERATURE
A leading translator of Sanskrit literature, Dr. Miller edited and translated numerous works of Indian poetry and drama, including this popular translation of the Bhagavad-Gita in verse form.
(IDA348, $5.95)
The God of Small Things
Arundhati Roy
LITERATURE
A mystery, family saga and tale of lost innocence set in Kerala during the tumult of the 1960s. The luminous, Booker-prize winning novel opens in June, at the beginning of the monsoon season, when "The countryside turns an immodest green ... Pepper vines snake up electric poles. Wild creepers burst through laterite banks and spill across the flooded roads."
(IDA31, $14.95)
The Namesake
Jhumpa Lahiri
LITERATURE
An intricate and beautifully told tale, Lahiri follows the Ganguli family as they leave Calcutta and settle in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Now a feature film, directed by Mira Nair.
(IDA292, $14.00)
The Toss of a Lemon
Padma Viswanathan
LITERATURE
This captivating debut novel, inspired by the author's family history, traces the lives a young widow and her orthodox Brahmin family throughout sixty years of profound social and political upheaval in India.
(IDA533, $26.00)
The Vintage Book of Modern Indian Literature
Amit Chaudhuri
LITERATURE
An introduction to Indian fiction and poetry since 1850, including works both in translation and written originally in English. The authors span a century and a half of Indian letters, from Tagore and Bankim Chandra Chatterjee to Rushdie and Anita Desai.
(IDA218, $15.00)
Twilight in Delhi
Ahmed Ali
LITERATURE
This much-loved novel captures life in turn-of-the-century Delhi.
(IDA62, $14.95)
India Safari Companion
Alain Pons
NATURAL HISTORY
A colorful, illustrated slim guide to wildlife, photography and travel in India.
(IDA371, $14.95)
Wild India, The Wildlife of India and Nepal
Guy Mountefort
Gerald Cubitt
NATURAL HISTORY
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)
A Field Guide to the Indian Mammals
Vivek Menon
FIELD GUIDE
COMING IN APRIL
Menon's authoritative field guide, featuring extensive notes and clear color photographs.
(IDA546, $35.00)
Birds of India
Richard Grimmett
Carol Inskipp
Tim Inskipp
FIELD GUIDE
A compact, authoritative guide to 1,300 birds of the subcontinent, from Nepal and Bhutan to Sri Lanka, with stunning color plates, range maps and descriptive information on facing pages.
(FG43, $35.00)
Here are some other groups of books that might interest you. Click to view a listing:
More Books
For Kids
Worth Looking For
Rajasthan
Wild India
Northern India
Southern India
Great Indian Writers
Ladakh
home map
|
book bag
|
advanced search
|
contact us
(800) 342-2164 (212) 904-1144 115 West 30th St., Suite 1206 New York, NY 10001 USA
Choose a Region
Polar Regions
North America
Middle America
South America
Northern Europe
Southern Europe
Mediterranean
Middle East
Africa
Central & East Asia
South Asia
Southeast Asia
Australia & The Pacific
Copyright 2008 Geographica, Inc.
site created by
bitflip interactive group
powered by
metarhythm