Among the Believers, An Islamic Journey  •  V.S. Naipaul CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1982 •  PAPER  • 430 PAGES A provocative, insightful account of Naipaul's travels in the 1979 through the non-Arab Islamic nations of Iran, Pakistan, Malaysia and Indonesia. Naipaul interweaves description and incident with interviews and thoughts on the role of religion. (ISL17, $16.00)
Among the Mountains, Travels through Asia  •  Wilfred Thesiger EXPLORATION •  2001 •  PAPER  • 174 PAGES A classic account of intrepid British explorer Wilfred Thesiger's travels through the mountain ranges of Iraqi Kurdistan, the Karakorams, the Hindu Kush, and Ladakh. Half of the book is devoted to Thesiger's journeys through Hazarajat and Nuristan in Afghanistan. Drawn from the author's diaries, 1952-1956. With 80 photographs by Thesiger. Each chapter opens with a useful relief map of his route. (ASA28, $17.99)
City of Sin and Splendour, Writings on Lahore  •  Bapsi Sidhwa ANTHOLOGY •  2006 •  PAPER  • 392 PAGES An anthology. (PKN19, $14.00)
Conflict Unending  •  Sumit Ganguly HISTORY •  2002 •  PAPER  • 200 PAGES An in-depth study of the turbulent relationship between India and Pakistan since independence in 1947, with a focus on Kashmir. (IDA223, $28.00)
The Dust of Empire, The Race for Mastery in the Asian Heartland  •  Karl Meyer HISTORY •  2004 •  PAPER  • 256 PAGES Meyer's follow-up to the lively, engaging "Tournament of Shadows," his account of the 19th-century tussle between Great Britain and Russia over control of the region. Here the veteran journalist brings the story of politics and struggle in the Central Asian Republics up to date, covering too the Caucasus, Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and Russia. Meyer artfully interweaves travels with interviews, history and analysis. (CAS96, $15.00)
A Field Guide to the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent  •  Krys Kazmierczak  •  Ber Van Perlo FIELD GUIDE •  1999 •  HARD COVER  • 352 PAGES A compact field guide to 1,300 species with 96 color plates by bird artist Ber van Perlo, covering Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. With distribution maps and concise information on identification, voice and habitat by the author of "A Birdwatcher's Guide to India." (FG40, $50.00)
Hindu Rulers, Muslim Subjects: Islam, Rights, and the History of Kashmir  •  Mridu Rai HISTORY •  2004 •  PAPER A scholarly, challenging history of Kashmir from the 1846 Treaty of Amritsar, which created the princely states of Kshmir and Jammu, until the forced accession of Kashmir to to India in 1947. A professor of history at Yale, Rai throws light on the role of the British and the East India company, subjugation of the Muslim majority by Dogra kings and the emergence of Kashmir's modern Muslim identity. (IDA377, $25.95)
In Xanadu, A Quest  •  William Dalrymple TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2000 •  PAPER  • 319 PAGES An informative, entertaining account of an epic journey mostly in the footsteps of Marco Polo from Jerusalem through the Middle East and along the Silk Route to Central Asia and China. Bureau Chief for a London newspaper in New Delhi, an intrepid traveler, and entertaining writer, Dalrymple offers an anecdotal history of the people and places he encounters en route. Originally published in 1990. (CAS50, $14.95)
The Indus River  •  Shane Mountjoy HISTORY •  2005 •  • YOUNG ADULTS An interesting history of the Indus River, the chief river of Pakistan and founding site of the anceint Indus Valley civilization. (PKN21, $32.50)
The Khyber Pass, A History of Empire and Invasion  •  Paddy Docherty HISTORY •  2008 •  Docherty chronicles the history of the Khyber Pass in this riveting tale of invasions and conquerors. (PKN22, $24.95)
Kim  •  Rudyard Kipling LITERATURE •  1992 •  PAPER  • 365 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 this classic novel. It's one of the great adventure stories -- the enduring tale of an orphan boy who, through happenstance, travels the Grand Trunk Road. (IDA65, $7.00)
Previous Convictions, Assignments from Here and There  •  A. A. Gill TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2008 •  PAPER  • 307 PAGES This latest collection of the peripatetic British columnist and critic's covertly insightful reports from far-flung locales include Haiti, Brazil, Greenland, Manhattan, Mykonos, Pakistan and the Sudan. Gill (The Angry island) once again skewers local customs and pastimes in the first section -- golf being the easiest and most hilarious target. (TVL460, $15.00)
Savage Summit: The True Stories of the First Five Women Who Climbed K2, the World's Most Feared Mountain  •  Jennifer Jordan EXPLORATION •  2005 •  HARD COVER  • 300 PAGES The stories of five women who made it to the top of K2 from 1986 to 1995, told in order of their summits: Wanda Rutkiewicz, Liliane Barrard, Julie Tullis, Chantal Mauduit and Alison Hargreaves. She draws on letters and interviews in building her tale. (HML68, $24.95)
The Sikhs  •  Patwant Singh RELIGION •  2001 •  PAPER  • 304 PAGES A comprehensive overview for the traveler to Punjab, the historical homeland of the Sikhs. This is the story of a people, touching on issues of history, religion, culture, prejudice, castes, surnames, war, magic, and prescriptive social policy. (IDA178, $19.00)
South Asia  •  Sumit Ganguly HISTORY •  2006 •  PAPER  • 256 PAGES A scholarly history of modern South Asia, including India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. Sumit Ganguly is the Rabindranath Tagore Professor of Indian cultures and civilizations and professor of political science at Indiana University. (IDA308, $18.00)
South Southeast  •  Steve McCurry ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2001 •  HARD COVER  • 160 PAGES A remarkable portfolio of images taken in and around Afghanistan, Burma, India, Pakistan and other sites in South and Southeast Asia over a career in photojournalism spanning twenty years. The photographs, saturated with color, life and light, are beautiful. You can preview some of his striking photographs online at http://www.stevemccurry.com. (ASA34, $59.95)
The Tiger Ladies, A Memoir of Kashmir  •  Sudha Koul TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2002 •  PAPER  • 224 PAGES A graceful account of coming-of-age in a cultured household in Srinigar, a world long since erased with the partition of Kashmir and ongoing struggles. Koul interweaves the story of her family -- and especially of its women -- with tales of gods and goddesses, myths and cultural history, paying plenty of attention to the pleasures of food, fine textiles, and the life of the mind. (IDA207, $15.00)
A Woman's Asia  •  Marybeth Bond ANTHOLOGY •  2005 •  PAPER  • 310 PAGES These thirty-five personal, often hilarious accounts of women's adventures from China to Sri Lanka to Turkey to Bhutan, not only illuminating the everyday, oft-overlooked cultural practices of Asia, but also giving a glimpse into the thoughts and feelings of the female traveller. Featuring selections from Jan Morris, Pamela Logan and Alison Wright. (ASA49, $17.95)