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Aami in America, A Pilgrimage of the Heart  •  Broughton Coburn   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE  •  An account of a coast-to-coast tour in the company of an 84-year-old nepalese woman. (USA11, $14.95)
 
 
Altitude Illness: Prevention and Treatment, How to Stay Healthy at Altitude  •  Stephen Bezruchka   • REFERENCE  •  This useful reference book provides essential information concerning the prevention and treatment of altitude sickness. (REF02, $8.95)
 
 
Ancient Futures, Learning from Ladakh  •  Dalai Lama  •  Peter Matthiessen  •  Helena Norberg-Hodge   • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR  •  Norberg-Hodge documents her community work and changes from traditional ways of life; she has lived and worked in Ladakh since 1975. (HML24, $16.95)
 
 
Annapurna Map  •   Nelles    •  A map of the Annapurna hiking region at scale of 1:100,000 with major features, color shading and contour lines. (NPL32, $13.95)
 
 
Annapurna, A Woman's Place  •  Arlene Blum   • EXPLORATION  •  This account of the historic 1978 climb celebrates the first American ascent of Annapurna by a team of 13 women. The climbers were also, notably, the first women to scale any of the world's 8,000 meter-peaks. (HML30, $16.00)
 
 
Annapurna, The Epic Account of a Himalayan Conquest and its Harrowing Aftermath  •  Maurice Herzog   • EXPLORATION • FAVORITE  •  This classic account of the first ascent of an 8,000-meter peak was dictated by expedition leader Herzog from his hospital bed in Paris. (HML07, $16.95)
 
 
An Area of Darkness  •  V.S. Naipaul   • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR  •  A reflective, personal account of Naipaul's travels in India in 1962 -- a portrait of a time and place and searing, honest chronicle of the country during transition. (IDA13, $14.95)
 
 
The Art and Architecture of Islam 1250-1800  •  Sheila Blair  •  Jonathan Bloom   • ART & ARCHITECTURE  •  A survey of the monuments and art produced by Muslims from the 13th to 19th centuries. (ISL27, $37.00)
 
 
The Art of the Imperial Cholas  •  Vidya Dehijia   • ART & ARCHITECTURE  •  (IDA104, $41.50)
 
 
The Ascent of Rum Doodle  •  W. E. Bowman  •  Bill Bryson   • LITERATURE  •  Firmly in the school of offhand, bumbling British exploration, this book is hardly handicapped by the fact that its author had never been near the Himalayas. It's a spoof of British mountaineering. Very funny indeed. (HML55, $13.99)
 
 
The Autobiography of an Unknown Indian  •  Nirad C. Chaudhuri   • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR  •  One of the great works of modern Indian literature, reissued in 2001. It's at once the story of Chaudhuri's youth in rural Bengal and Calcutta and the story of modern India's origins; a masterpiece steeped in time and place. (IDA196, $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)
 
 
Banaras  •  Diana L. Eck   • HISTORY  •  This history of the holiest and oldest of Indian cities, the home of Shiva, encompasses many millennia of Buddhist and especially Hindu practices along the Ganges. (IDA211, $28.50)
 
 
Beyond the Sky and the Earth, A Journey into Bhutan  •  Jamie Zeppa   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE  •  In this warm memoir, Zeppa recounts her time as a teacher in a remote village and her growing love and commitment to the Bhutanese culture and people. (BHU08, $16.00)
 
 
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)
 
 
Bhubaneswar: From a Temple Town to a Capital City  •  Ravi Kalia   • HISTORY  •  A scholarly analysis of the building of the new capital of the Indian state of Orissa. (IDA135, $45.00)
 
 
Bhutan Map  •   ITMB    •  A double-sided traveler's map of Bhutan at an excellent scale of 1:380,000. With insets of Paro and Thimphu, index and trekking routes. (BHU06, $12.95)
 
 
The Big Cats and Their Fossil Relatives, An Illustrated Guide to Their Evolution and Natural History  •  Alan Turner  •  Mauricio Anton   • NATURAL HISTORY  •  A thoroughly researched guide to modern felines and their ancestors. (BST50, $26.95)
 
 
Birds of Northern India  •  Richard Grimmett  •  Carol Inskipp   • FIELD GUIDE  •  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)
 
 
Blue Guide Southern India  •  George Michell   • GUIDEBOOK  •  The usual comprehensive Blue Guide treatment of the art and culture of South India, with 90 maps and site plans. (IDA94, $25.95)
 
 
The Book of Indian Birds  •  Salim Ali   • FIELD GUIDE • OUT OF PRINT  •  The 12th editon of this classic field guide to the birds of the plains, foothills, wetlands, and seacoast of the Indian subcontinent, published in India and authored by one of its pre-eminent ornithologists. Organized by bird family, each species is illustrated in color. (IDA45, $34.50)
 
 
Buddhist Himalayas  •  Olivier and Danielle Föllmi  •  Mattieu Ricard   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT • COMING IN SEPTEMBER  •  A big, beautiful celebration of the Himalayas, featuring 185 richly colored, often double-page photographs and succinct accompanying essays by Mattieu Ricard on religion and culture. (HML53, $29.95)
 
 
Calcutta Map  •   Bharat Graphics    •  (IDA155, $6.95)
 
 
The Camphor Flame, Popular Hinduism and Society in India  •  C.J. Fuller   • RELIGION  •  A comprehensive study of contemporary Hinduism and Indian society. (IDA90, $24.95)
 
 
The Child and the State in India  •  Myron Weiner   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT  •  A thought-provoking no-nonsense evaluation of education and child labor in India. (IDA40, $27.95)
 
 
City of Joy  •  Dominique La Pierre   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT  •  An epic of love, heroism, and hope set among the dispossessed, and those who have sacrificed all to help them, in the slums of Calcutta. (IDA25, $7.99)
 
 
The Climb, Tragic Ambitions on Everest  •  Anatoli Boukreev   • EXPLORATION  •  An eyewitness account of the 1996 tragedy by Russian mountaineer Anatoli Boukreev. (HML29, $7.99)
 
 
Come with Me to India, On a Wondrous Voyage through Time  •  Sudha Koul   • HISTORY • HARD TO FIND ELSEWHERE  •  An informal -- and brief -- survey of Indian cultural history, written with the author's very American(ized) daughters in mind. (IDA47, $15.50)
 
 
Conflict Unending  •  Sumit Ganguly   • HISTORY  •  An in-depth study of the turbulent relationship between India and Pakistan since independence in 1947, with a focus on Kashmir. (IDA223, $27.00)
 
 
The Dancing Girl  •  Hasan Shah   • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR  •  The realistically rendered tale of love for a dancing girl who entertained the British Army in colonial India, originally written in 1790. (IDA61, $9.95)
 
 
Darsan, Seeing the Divine Image in India  •  Diana L. Eck   • ART & ARCHITECTURE  •  A fascinating and rigorous guide to deciphering Hindu symbolism, this book will help you understand and appreciate religious art in India. Despite its scholarly paraphernalia and language, the book is extremely useful for the traveler. (IDA75, $22.00)
 
 
Delhi Map  •   Bharat Graphics    •  (IDA150, $6.95)
 
 
Dharma's Daughters: Contemporary Indian Women and Hindu Culture  •  Sara Mitter   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT  •  An insightful, many-layered social history of women in the author's adoptive India. (IDA38, $22.95)
 
 
The Dragon in the Land of Snows: A History of Modern Tibet Since 1947  •  Tsering Shakya   • HISTORY  •  A comprehensive account of the history and political development of Tibet since 1947, which includes eye-opening details of the American, British and Indian players involved in Tibet's struggle for sovereignty. (TBT32, $17.00)
 
 
Eastern India Map  •   Nelles    •  A detailed regional map of eastern India, from just east of Delhi through all of Nepal, at a scale of 1:1,500,000. (IDA123, $10.95)
 
 
Encountering God: A Spiritual Journey from Bozeman to Banaras  •  Diana L. Eck   • RELIGION  •  With its wide geographic and spiritual scope, and combination of the personal and scholarly, this book is a fascinating introduction to religion, and the author. (IDA78, $20.00)
 
 
The End of a Trail, The Cheetah in India  •  Divyabhanusinh Chavda   • NATURAL HISTORY  •  A historical study of the cheetah in India, where it is now extinct. (IDA140, $75.00)
 
 
Epic, Stories of Survival from the World's Highest Peaks  •  Clint Willis   • ANTHOLOGY  •  A terrific collection of great writing about mountaineering. (HML37, $17.95)
 
 
Escape from Kathmandu  •  Kim Stanley Robinson   • LITERATURE  •  The four interconnected stories in this laugh-out-loud novel include the (mis)adventures of two young Americans with a Yeti, international espionage, mountain climbing of the highest sort and a quest for Shangri-La. (NPL41, $15.95)
 
 
Essential Tibetan Buddhism  •  Robert Thurman   • RELIGION  •  A collection of recently translated texts by the foremost Western scholar of Tibetan Buddhism. Thurman has chosen well from the vibrant sacred literature of Tibet, and helpfully includes suggested further reading, explanatory notes and a directory of sacred sites. (TBT15, $14.95)
 
 
Everest, A Mountaineering History  •  Walter Unsworth   • EXPLORATION  •  A classic history of mountaineering, updated through 1998 for this third edition. (NPL38, $45.00)
 
 
Everest, A Trekker's Guide  •  Kev Reynolds   • GUIDEBOOK  •  A brief pocket guide to seven treks in the Everst region (including one in Tibet) with sketch maps, good general information and a few photographs. (NPL45, $22.95)
 
 
Everest, Mountain Without Mercy  •  Broughton Coburn   • NATURAL HISTORY  •  Spectacularly photographed, this book is an account of the making of the IMAX film on Everest, including an account of the 1996 disaster. (HML20, $24.00)
 
 
Everest, the West Ridge  •  Thomas F. Hornbein   • EXPLORATION  •  A vivid, moving personal account of the American expedition to Everest in 1963. (HML10, $19.95)
 
 
Eyewitness: India  •  Abha Narain Lamba   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT • MIDDLE READERS (Age 9-12)  •  Here's a fact-filled, visually jazzy survey of India. (IDA212, $16.00)
 
 
Family Matters  •  Rohinton Mistry   • LITERATURE  •  An aging professor comes to live with his daughter, her husband and their two children in a cramped Bombay apartment in Mistry's moving, and often comic, tale of history, memory and familial bonds. (IDA214, $15.95)
 
 
Fasting, Feasting  •  Anita Desai   • LITERATURE  •  A well-constructed and deeply disturbing story of a sister and brother in a middle-class Indian family. Dull Uma is constrained to live at home and totally controlled by her parents, whereas bright Arun is helped to achieve academically and goes abroad to America. An eye-opening view into cultural differences and the Indian experience at home and abroad. (IDA172, $13.95)
 
 
Father India, Westerners Under the Spell of an Ancient Culture  •  Jeffrey Paine   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT  •  A very interesting book that explores the fascination that India has exerted on writers, politicians and other vistors. (IDA165, $14.95)
 
 
A Field Guide to the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent  •  Krys Kazmierczak  •  Ber Van Perlo   • FIELD GUIDE  •  A compact field guide to 1,300 species. (FG40, $45.00)
 
 
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)
 
 
Footprint India Handbook  •  Robert Bradnock   • GUIDEBOOK  •  A comprehensive gudie to India with practical travel detail on where to go and what to do. (IDA138, $29.95)
 
 
Freedom Song  •  Amit Chaudhuri   • LITERATURE  •  This three-novella volume contains Chaudhuri's finest work to date -- in particular "A Strange and Sublime Address," his evocation of childhood in Calcutta. (IDA217, $14.00)
 
 
From the Mango Tree and Other Folk Tales from Nepal  •  Kavita Ram Shrestha  •  Sarah Lamstein   • LITERATURE • FAMILY  •  15 traditional Nepalese tales for children. (NPL44, $40.00)
 
 
Funny Boy  •  Shyam Selvadurai   • LITERATURE  •  Building a complex portrait through detail of family, society and place, this prize-winning novel is a gay coming of age story set in contemporary Sri Lanka. Splendidly written. (SRL01, $14.00)
 
 
Gandhi, His Life and Message for the World  •  Louis Fischer   • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR  •  A classic biography of Gandhi, still one of the most readable, lively, and interesting books on the subject. (IDA162, $7.99)
 
 
Ghosts of Everest, The Search for Mallory & Irvine  •  Jochen Hemmleb  •  Eric Simonson  •  Larry Johnson   • EXPLORATION  •  You may have seen the pictures. This is the illustrated, comprehensive account of the successful expedition to determine the fate of George Mallory, who disappeared on Mt. Everest in 1924. (HML39, $24.95)
 
 
The Glass Palace  •  Amitav Ghosh   • LITERATURE  •  An epic novel of war, love and history in Burma, India and Malaysia, following the lives and fortunes of one family over three generations. (IDA173, $14.95)
 
 
The God of Small Things  •  Arundhati Roy   • LITERATURE  •  Roy's luminous prose and playful wit make this novel a true masterpiece. Set against a lush Kerala backdrop during the tumult of the 1960s, it's a tragedy seen through innocent eyes. (IDA31, $14.95)
 
 
The Great Hill Stations of Asia  •  Barbara Crossette   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE  •  A modern tour of the mountain enclaves of colonial Asia -- appreciative, magnificently researched and engaging. (ASA13, $16.00)
 
 
A Guide to the Birds of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives  •  Richard Grimmett  •  Carol Inskipp  •  Tim Inskipp   • FIELD GUIDE  •  Beautiful, comprehensive and up-to-date, this is the definitive field guide to birds from Bhutan to Sri Lanka and the Maldives. It covers 1300 species, and weighs 5 pounds. With 150 color plates and a detailed map for each species. (FG31, $132.00)
 
 
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)
 
 
Himalayan Voices, An Introduction to Modern Nepali Literature  •  Michael Hutt   • ANTHOLOGY  •  A collection of 20th-century Nepali poetry and short fiction, much of it translated into English for the first time. This anthology offers insight into Nepal's literary traditions, society and culture. (HML35, $26.95)
 
 
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)
 
 
Hindoo Holiday, An Indian Journal  •  J.R. Ackerly   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE  •  Ackerly traipses across India as the English tutor to a handsome and extravagantly homosexual maharajah in this comic, beautifully turned-out novel masquerading as a travelogue. (IDA115, $14.00)
 
 
Hindu Art  •  T. Richard Blurton   • ART & ARCHITECTURE  •  A beautifully large paperback of excellent quality, this book is a good introduction to the complexities of Indian painting, sculpture and sacred architecture. (IDA35, $33.00)
 
 
The Holder of the World  •  Bharati Mukherjee   • LITERATURE  •  A daring novel of ideas, travel and history. Mukherjee interweaves the story of a modern American researcher with the travels of her 17th-century ancestor who roamed through Mughal India. (IDA190, $13.95)
 
 
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)
 
 
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 Map  •   ITMB    •  The most detailed shaded relief map (at a scale of 1:2,100,000) of India available. (IDA18, $10.95)
 
 
India Unbound  •  Gurcharan Das   • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR  •  In this pleasant and readable narrative, acclaimed journalist and author Gurcharan Das weaves his personal story into the larger context of India's recent history, discussing at length the economic and political issues facing the nation. (IDA144, $15.95)
 
 
India, A Concise History  •  Francis Watson   • HISTORY  •  An illustrated history in the fine series from Thames & Hudson. (IDA139, $18.95)
 
 
India, A History  •  John Keay   • HISTORY  •  A sweeping history of India from early settlement in the Indus Valley around 2000 B.C through ancient civilizations, Hindu, Christian and Muslim traditions, Mughal pomp, colonial rule, independence and the heady challenges of modern democracy. (IDA175, $19.95)
 
 
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, From Midnight to the Millennium  •  Shashi Tharoor   • HISTORY  •  Tharoor tackles religious differences, his upbringing in the south of India, his own experiences as a "Non-resident Indian," and a great deal of history in this sweeping, narrative history of the last 50 years. (IDA106, $14.95)
 
 
Indian Art  •  Vidya Dehejia   • ART & ARCHITECTURE  •  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, $24.95)
 
 
Indian Embers  •  Lady Rosamund Lawrence   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE  •  First published in 1949, this travelogue is a classic account of a journey through India. (IDA54, $22.95)
 
 
Insight Guide India  •   Insight Guides   • GUIDEBOOK  •  An illustrated overview of India, with essays on its attractions, history, nature and culture. Includes introductions to the major temples, forts and wildlife sites, and plenty of color photos and maps. (IDA19, $23.95)
 
 
Insight Guide Nepal  •   Insight Guides   • GUIDEBOOK  •  An illustrated overview of Nepal with essays on its history, nature and culture. (NPL19, $23.95)
 
 
Insight Guide Sri Lanka  •  Insight Guides   • GUIDEBOOK  •  An illustrated overview of Sri Lanka with essays on its attractions, history and culture complemented by many pictures and maps. (SRL02, $22.95)
 
 
Into Thin Air, A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster  •  Jon Krakauer   • EXPLORATION  •  A best-selling, minute-by-minute account of the 1996 disaster on Everest. (HML08, $26.95)
 
 
Into Thin Air, A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster  •  Jon Krakauer   • EXPLORATION  •  In this bestseller, climber and journalist Krakauer reconstructs a minute-by-minute account of what went wrong on the great mountain in 1996. (HML13, $14.95)
 
 
An Invitation to Indian Cooking: With a New Preface by the Author  •  Madhur Jaffrey   • FOOD  •  An introduction to the food of India, and the diversity of flavors, ingredients, recipes, and styles of preparation and presentation. A classic in its field. (IDA161, $27.00)
 
 
Jahanara, Princess of Princesses  •  Kathryn Lasky   • LITERATURE • MIDDLE READERS (Age 9-12)  •  Kathryn Lasky imagines the life and diary of a Mughal princess in 1627 India in this installment in Scholastic's "Royal Diaries" series. Our diarist Jahanara's parents are none other than Shah Jahan and Mumtaz -- builder and occupant of the Taj Mahal, respectively. (IDA213, $10.95)
 
 
Jewel in the Crown  •  Paul Scott   • LITERATURE  •  The first book in Scott's addictive Raj Quartet, set in British India in 1942, is a rousing, psychologically complex tale of English colonial rule. (IDA66, $20.00)
 
 
K2, Triumph and Tragedy  •  Jim Curran   • EXPLORATION  •  This is a tense account of disaster on the world's second highest mountain in 1986. The author was on the mountain when 13 climbers in 9 different expeditions died. (PKN05, $15.00)
 
 
Ka, Stories of the Mind and Gods of India  •  Roberto Calasso  •  Tim Parks   • LITERATURE  •  A challenging collection of stories based on traditional Hindu myths. (IDA168, $16.00)
 
 
Kali's Child, The Mystical and Erotic in the Life and Teachings of Ramakrishna  •  Jeffrey J. Kripal   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT  •  A scholarly analysis of the life and thought of a 19th century Bengali mystic and modern saint. (IDA112, $32.00)
 
 
Karma Cola, Marketing the Mystical East  •  Gita Mehta   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT  •  A witty, often poignant satire on the exploitation of both Westerners and Indians through tourism. (IDA136, $13.95)
 
 
Khumbu Himal (Everest) Map  •   Nelles    •  An trekkers map of the Mt. Everest region. (NPL33, $13.95)
 
 
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)
 
 
Kim  •  Rudyard Kipling   • LITERATURE  •  The enduring tale of Kimball O'Hara, an orphan boy who, through happenstance, travels the Grand Trunk Road with a Tibetan Lama. (IDA116, $27.99)
 
 
Kinship to Mastery, Biophilia in Human Evolution and Development  •  Stephen R. Kellert   • NATURAL HISTORY  •  A study of biolophilia, the innate human affinity for nature, told through a series of vignettes. (NAT61, $25.00)
 
 
Ladakh, Crossroads of High Asia  •  Janet Rizvi   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT • OUT OF PRINT  •  The standard, authoritative survey of the culture, society and economy of remote Ladakh. (HML26, $20.95)
 
 
Life and Death on Mt. Everest, Sherpas and Himalayan Mountaineering  •  Sherry B. Ortner   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT  •  A vividly written, scholarly study of the relationship between the Sherpas and the mountaineers who come to "conquer" the Himalayas. (TBT33, $27.95)
 
 
Lives of Indian Images  •  Richard H. Davis   • ART & ARCHITECTURE  •  An insightful study of how Indian religious images take on lives of their own. (IDA91, $33.95)
 
 
Lonely Planet Hindi & Urdu Phrasebook  •  Richard Somers Delacy   • LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS  •  A handy phrasebook for Hindi and Urdu basics. (IDA82, $8.99)
 
 
Lonely Planet India  •  Tony Wheeler   • GUIDEBOOK  •  A comprehensive practical guide to India geared for independent travelers. (IDA44, $29.99)
 
 
Love and Longing in Bombay  •  Vikram Chandra   • LITERATURE  •  Five transfixing stories in five different genres, united in setting and authorship by the contemporary wizard of the human condition, Vikram Chandra. (IDA216, $13.95)
 
 
Love in a Different Climate, Men Who Have Sex with Men in India  •  Jeremy Seabrook   • RELIGION  •  Sexual identify and politics in India. (IDA113, $25.00)
 
 
Mahabhrata  •  William Buck  •  B. A. Van Nooten   • LITERATURE  •  An introduction and retelling of one of the greatest Hindu epics. (IDA167, $21.95)
 
 
Mahatma Gandhi and his Apostles  •  Ved Mehta   • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR  •  A vivid examination of the life and work of Gandhi by novelist Ved Mehta. (IDA21, $25.00)
 
 
Malgudi Days  •  R. K. Narayan  •  Jhumpa Lahiri   • LITERATURE • 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, $14.00)
 
 
Man-Eaters of Kumaon  •  Jim Corbett   • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR  •  The memoirs of a turn-of-the-century hunter-turned-conservationist who was much loved in India. (HML12, $14.95)
 
 
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)
 
 
A Meeting by the River  •  Christopher Isherwood   • LITERATURE  •  Two brothers meeting in India, one a bisexual capitalist and the other a Hindu monk. (IDA114, $16.95)
 
 
Memoirs of a Political Officer's Wife in Tibet, Sikkim, and Bhutan  •  Margaret D. Williamson   • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • OUT OF PRINT  •  Williamson, the wife of a British political officer stationed in Gangtok in the 1930s, captures the culture, society and flavor of the region in this wonderfully personal account. (BHU05, $18.95)
 
 
Midnight's Children  •  Salman Rushdie   • LITERATURE • FAVORITE  •  Rushdie's greatest novel is a madcap, comic take on the birth of modern India in all its many splendid and unexpected manifestations. Its narrator, not coincidentally, is born at the stroke of midnight August 15, 1947. (IDA12, $14.95)
 
 
Modern South Asia: History, Culture, Political Economy  •  Ayesha Jalal  •  Sugata Bose   • HISTORY  •  This scholarly, brief history of India up to the 1990s is particularly good at its coverage of the post-Independence political landscape. It's a popular textbook, co-authored by a Pakistani and an Indian. (IDA192, $35.95)
 
 
Monkfish Moon  •  Romesh Gunesekera   • LITERATURE  •  These nine excellent short stories, all set in Sri Lanka, capture the spirit of the place. Gunesekera sketches myriad characters, all of whom wonder "what's happened?" as they deal with the reality of a nation embroiled in Tamil-Sinhala strife. (SRL03, $16.95)
 
 
The Moor's Last Sigh  •  Salman Rushdie   • LITERATURE  •  A sweeping family epic that tackles many of the most complex aspects about Indian culture. In his characteristically rich prose, Rushdie tells the history of India, set among the spice traders of Cochin. (IDA89, $14.95)
 
 
Mountain Light, In Search of the Dynamic Landscape  •  Galen Rowell   • NATURAL HISTORY  •  Rowell presents 80 of his most spectacular mountain images, divided according to visual content. Each chapter illustrates a theme or technique, supplemented by a short personal essay. (PHT06, $29.95)
 
 
Mountaineering, The Freedom of the Hills  •   The Mountaineers   • GUIDEBOOK  •  The essential handbook for mountaineers, in a seventh revised edition. With chapters on outdoor fundamentals, rock, snow, ice, and alpine climbing, emergency prevention and response, the mountain environment, and gear. (GEN267, $29.95)
 
 
The Mountains of My Life  •  Walter Bonatti   • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR  •  The candid memoir of the great Italian climber and his adventures in the Alps, the Himalayas, and South America, including Bonatti's account of what happened on the summit of K2 in 1954. (ALP25, $16.95)
 
 
Mt. Everest  •   National Geographic    •  A gloriously detailed, birds-eye view of Everest by the cartographers at National Geographic. (NPL36, $19.99)
 
 
My Land and My People, The Original Autobiography of His Holiness the Dalai Lama of Tibet  •  Dalai Lama   • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR  •  The Dalai Lama recounts his life and struggles for an independent Tibet. It's one of the most remarkable stories of our time, simply and compassionately told by the Lama himself. (TBT22, $13.95)
 
 
Nepal Map  •   Nelles    •  A convenient double-sided map of Nepal at a scale of 1:500,000, with insets of Kathmandu City and Kathmandu Valley. (NPL01, $10.95)
 
 
News from Tartary  •  Peter Fleming   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE  •  A rousing, ironic account of Fleming's 3500-mile trek in the 1930s from Peking to the province of Sinkiang and onwards to India. (CAS46, $18.95)
 
 
Northeastern India/Bangladesh Map  •   Nelles    •  A regional map of India at a scale of 1:1,500,000, with excellent topographic detail. . (IDA98, $10.95)
 
 
Northern India Map  •   Nelles    •  A regional map of northern India scaled at 1:1,500,000, with excellent topographic detail and insets of Zanskar & Ladakh. (IDA124, $10.95)
 
 
Of Tigers and Men  •  Richard Ives   • NATURAL HISTORY • HARD TO FIND ELSEWHERE  •  A haunting, beautifully written tale of a man's quest to encounter tigers in the wild, and to understand the meaning of the threat of the tiger's extinction. Ives visits the forests of India, Thailand, and Sumatra. (IDA30, $12.50)
 
 
On a Shoestring to Coorg: An Experience of Southern India  •  Dervla Murphy   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE  •  This tough Irish grandmother has made travel something of a cottage industry. Here's her first venture outside Europe, an insightful tale of her wanderings by bus and on foot through the mountainous province of Coorg in 1976. (IDA29, $15.95)
 
 
A Painter's Year in the Forests of Bhutan  •  A.K. Hellum   • NATURAL HISTORY  •  An informal account of travels, ecology and art in Bhutan, featuring paintings of 100 mountain plants by a Norwegian-born forestry consultant. (BHU14, $18.95)
 
 
A Passage to India  •  E.M. Forster   • LITERATURE  •  Forster's enduring masterpiece of the clash between Indian and British culture gives gripping insights into British imperial attitudes and Indian colonial responses. (IDA26, $14.00)
 
 
A Passage to India  •  E.M. Forster    •  (IDA67, $23.95)
 
 
A Photographic Guide to the Birds of India  •  B. Grewal  •  Bill Harvey  •  Otto Pfister   • FIELD GUIDE  •  A comprehensive photographic guide to the subcontinent. (IDA215, $35.00)
 
 
A Photographic Guide to the Birds of India and Nepal  •  B. Grewal   • FIELD GUIDE  •  A slim pocket guide to 252 of the most conspicuous birds of India and Nepal. (IDA46, $15.95)
 
 
Raj, The Making and Unmaking of British India  •  Lawrence James   • HISTORY  •  An anecdotal, engrossing mostly military history of the East India Company. (IDA87, $23.95)
 
 
Religions of Tibet in Practice  •  Donald S. Lopez, Jr.   • RELIGION  •  A collection of 36 essays and translated texts by scholars of Tibetan Buddhism, including selections on prayers, pilgrimages, death and ritual. (TBT16, $37.95)
 
 
The Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier, 1204-1760 (Comparative Studies on Muslim Societies, No 17)  •  Richard M. Eaton   • RELIGION  •  Eaton provides a rich, scholarly account of why eastern Bengal (modern Bangladesh) became heavily Islamicized, wheras western Bengal did not. Examines the movement of the linguistic, agrarian and cultural frontiers of Bengal. (IDA169, $26.95)
 
 
A River Sutra  •  Gita Mehta   • LITERATURE  •  A civil servant moves to the banks of India's holy Narmada river. (IDA43, $14.95)
 
 
Road Guide to Calcutta  •   Variety Book Depot    •  (IDA154, $5.95)
 
 
The Romantics  •  Pankaj Mishra   • LITERATURE  •  The story of a Brahman youth who travels to the holy city of Benares and there falls in with a motley crew of westerners enamored of India. (IDA143, $13.95)
 
 
The Root and the Flower  •  L.H. Myers  •  Penelope Fitzgerald   • LITERATURE  •  A trilogy of historical novels about India in the time of the Mughals -- first published separately in the 1930s and now back in print as a single volume. (IDA191, $16.95)
 
 
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)
 
 
Rough Guide South India  •   Rough Guide   • GUIDEBOOK  •  A comprehensive travel guide in the British series, this book includes an overview of the nature, history and culture of South India and a survey of attractions by region. (IDA93, $23.99)
 
 
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)
 
 
Running in the Family  •  Michael Ondaatje   • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR  •  Award-winning author Ondaatje returns to his native Sri Lanka in this hypnotic travelogue. His lovingly-traced family memoirs are interspersed with poetry and ruminations on the island's post-colonial history. (SRL04, $13.95)
 
 
Sacred Tibet  •  Philip Rawson   • ART & ARCHITECTURE  •  A concise, illustrated survey of Buddhist art in its religious, social and cultural context. (TBT18, $15.95)
 
 
Say It in Hindi  •  Veena T. Oldenburg   • LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS  •  A pocket phrasebook. (IDA81, $5.95)
 
 
Scoop-Wallah, Life on a Delhi Daily  •  Justine Hardy   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE  •  A memoir of life in Delhi as a newspaper reporter. (IDA127, $15.95)
 
 
Sherpas, Reflections on Change in Himalayan Nepal  •  James Fisher   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT  •  A detailed study of the change that mountaineering brought to Sherpa society. (NPL13, $26.95)
 
 
Shopping for Buddhas  •  Jeff Greenwald   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE • COMING IN SEPTEMBER  •  A funny tale of searching every last corner of Kathmandu for just the right statue of Buddha. In addition to his tourist's obsession with getting the ideal souvenir, Greenwald offers amusing and insightful meditations about Nepalese culture, politics and religion. (NPL25, $10.95)
 
 
The Sikhs  •  Patwant Singh   • RELIGION  •  The story of a people for the general reader. (IDA178, $19.00)
 
 
Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker: Traveller and Plant Collector  •  Raymond Desmond   • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR  •  A biography of the Victorian explorer and botanist featuring Hooker's illustrations and excerpts from his "Himalayan Journals" (GEN79, $49.50)
 
 
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)
 
 
Snakes and Ladders, Glimpses of Modern India  •  Gita Mehta    •  Essays on contemporary India, culture, politics and personalities, by the profilic writer and thinker. (IDA68, $13.95)
 
 
The Snow Leopard  •  Peter Matthiessen   • EXPLORATION • FAVORITE  •  Matthiessen's vivid story of discovering Buddhism and reality in the high Himalayas. The account of a five-week journey through Nepal with George Schaller in search of the magnificent leopard is only one of the many pleasures of this extraordinary book, his most perceptive and acutely observed of all. (NPL03, $15.00)
 
 
The Snow Lion and the Dragon, China, Tibet and the Dalai Lama  •  Melvyn C. Goldstein   • HISTORY  •  A brief history of the relationship of China and Tibet in the 20th century. Goldstein, a professor of history and expert on the region, includes a call for the United States to take an active role in mediating a diplomatic solution to the conflict. (TBT23, $17.95)
 
 
Something Hidden Behind the Ranges, A Himalayan Quest  •  Daniel Taylor-Ide   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE  •  The author takes us on a journey through the mountain kingdoms. (HML22, $14.95)
 
 
South Asia  •  Sumit Ganguly   • HISTORY  •  A scholarly history of modern South Asia, including India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. (IDA308, $18.00)
 
 
South Asia  •  Sumit Ganguly   • HISTORY  •  A scholarly history of modern South Asia, including India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. (IDA308, $18.00)
 
 
Southern India Map  •   Nelles    •  A colorful regional map of southern India at a scale of 1:1,500,000. . (IDA69, $10.95)
 
 
The Spirit of Tibet, Portrait of a Culture in Exile  •  Alison Wright   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT  •  A handsome pictorial essay on Tibetan culture and people in exile. (IDA159, $34.95)
 
 
Street Graphics India  •  Barry Dawson   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT  •  An excellent overview of the vibrant, ever-changing culture of modern, commercial India. (IDA122, $19.95)
 
 
A Suitable Boy  •  Vikram Seth   • LITERATURE  •  A modern classic set in Calcutta, Delhi and other northern India cities after Independence, bursting with history, character, and politics. In this outstanding epic novel, Seth displays his cultural sensitivity, historical insight, and poetic creativity. (IDA27, $21.95)
 
 
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)
 
 
This is India  •  Shobita Punja   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT  •  An oversize illustrated tribute to India. (IDA97, $39.95)
 
 
Tibet Map  •   MapLink    •  A colorful laminated map of Tibet and surrounding regions at a scale of 1:2,000,000. (TBT17, $9.95)
 
 
The Tibetan Book of the Dead, Liberation from Understanding the In Between  •  Robert Thurman   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT  •  A key text as presented by Robert Thurman for a western audience. This is the Tibetan guidebook to dying or "the between," written in the 8th or 9th century by Padma Sambhava. (TBT06, $18.00)
 
 
Tibetan Buddhism from the Ground Up, A Practical Approach for Modern Life  •  B. Alan Wallace   • RELIGION  •  A straightforward primer on the essentials of Buddhism as practiced in Tibet. The book is the result of a lecture series introducing the practice of Buddhism to the general public. (TBT19, $15.95)
 
 
Tintin in Tibet  •   Herge   • LITERATURE • MIDDLE READERS (Age 9-12)  •  The old-fashioned adventure story (for kids) of Tintin et al on their journey to Kathmandu. (TBT14, $10.99)
 
 
Touching My Father's Soul, A Sherpa's Journey to the Top of Everest  •  Jamling Tenz