SMITHSONIAN JOURNEYS
Mystical India   |   READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE

Here's a page from Longitude, the specialty bookseller for travelers. To order online, and to see the latest, most comprehensive selection of books and maps, go to http://reading.longitudebooks.com/WT8117. You may also call 800-342-2164 to order or request a catalog.


Essential Books These 5 items are available for $94, including
U.S. shipping, a 15% discount (Item no. EXIDA259)		  
Eyewitness Guide Delhi, Agra and Jaipur  •  Anuradha Chaturvedi
GUIDEBOOK •  2010 •  PAPER  • 320 PAGES
A compact, gorgeously illustrated guide to Delhi and environs featuring maps, site plans and 900 color photographs. With annotated recommendations of where to stay and eat and what to buy. It includes chapters on the Taj Mahal, Amber Fort Palace, Keoladeo Ghana National Park, Red Fort and dozens of other highlights for the traveler. (IDA151, $25.00)		   Eyewitness Guide Delhi, Agra and Jaipur
India  •  Stanley Wolpert
HISTORY •  2009 •  PAPER  • 281 PAGES
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, $24.95)		   India
Taj Mahal  •  Giles Tillotson  •  Mary Beard
ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2008 •  HARD COVER  • 190 PAGES
This pocket book in Harvard's Wonders of the World series is a guide and witty meditation on the place of the Taj Mahal in the cultural imagination of India and the wider world. An art historian, Tillotson demolishes myths about the structure ("the queen of architecture"), its history and meaning. (IDA528, $19.95)		   Taj Mahal
Mirrorwork, 50 Years of Indian Writing 1947-1997  •  Salman Rushdie  •  Elizabeth West
ANTHOLOGY •  1997 •  PAPER  • 554 PAGES
This choice anthology -- published in celebration of 50 years of Independence -- includes both fiction and non-fiction by Jawaharlal Nehru, R.K. Narayan, Satyajit Ray, Amit Chaudhuri and Vikram Seth. Selected by Rushdie and Elizabeth West, the collection begins with begins with Nehru's Tryst with Independence, his most famous speech. (IDA293, $19.99)		   Mirrorwork, 50 Years of Indian Writing 1947-1997
India Northwest Adventure Map  •  National Geographic
2011 •  MAP
A double-sided full color map of Northwest India at a scale of 1:1,400,000 with good shaded relief, topographic detail, roads, waterways and basic travel information. Printed on waterproof, tear-resistant paper. Two Sides. 20x31 inches. (IDA73, $11.95)		   India Northwest Adventure Map



Also Recommended

Nepal Map  •  Nelles    •  A double-sided map at a scale of 1:500,000, with insets of Kathmandu City and Kathmandu Valley. (NPL01, $13.95)
 		  
India Safari Companion  •  Alain Pons   • GUIDEBOOK  •  A colorful, illustrated slim guide to wildlife, photography and travel in India. (IDA371, $14.95)
 		  
Lonely Planet India Phrasebook  •  Omkar Koul   • LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS  •  A handy palm-sized guide. (IDA538, $10.99)
 		  
Love Delhi  •  Fiona Caulfield   • GUIDEBOOK  •  Packaged in very fashionable locally woven cloth, this beautifully made, discerning guide captures the soul of the city, pointing with authority to neighborhoods, shops, markets, restaurants and attractions. A labor of love by the Bangalore-based Fiona Caulfield and friends. Third edition. (IDA403, $50.00)
 		  
Love Jaipur, Rajasthan  •  Fiona Caulfield   • GUIDEBOOK  •  The exuberant Caulfield includes her favorite palaces and places, experiences, get-aways, markets, shops and must-sees in this rather remarkable, carefully curated hand-crafted guide. With sections on Jodhpur, Udaipur, Jaisalmer, Agra and Rajasthan. 2nd Edition. (IDA590, $50.00)
 		  
Spectrum Guide to Nepal  •  Camerapix   • GUIDEBOOK  •  A comprehensive guide to the country, its people, history, culture and geography, featuring excellent maps and 200 color photographs. (NPL27, $22.95)
 		  
A Traveller's History of India  •  Sinharaja Tammita-Delgoda   • HISTORY  •  A condensed introduction to the themes and events that have shaped India from prehistory to Rajiv Gandhi's rule. (IDA57, $14.95)
 		  
City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi  •  William Dalrymple   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT • FAVORITE  •  Dalrymple infectiously interweaves his own experiences over a year in Delhi with the art, architecture, history and literature of the city. (IDA06, $16.00)
 		  
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, $16.00)
 		  
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)
 		  
May You Be the Mother of a Hundred Sons, A Journey Among the Women of India  •  Elisabeth Bumiller   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT  •  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)
 		  
Mughal India, Splendours of the Peacock Throne  •  Valerie Berinstain  •  Paul Bahn   • HISTORY  •  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 Idea of India  •  Sunil Khilnani   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT  •  Khilnani confronts the complexities, paradoxes and challenges of the nation in this brief, elegant survey of India since independence. (IDA160, $17.00)
 		  
Darsan, Seeing the Divine Image in India  •  Diana L. Eck   • ART & ARCHITECTURE  •  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  •  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, $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 the extraordinary Jean-Louis Nou. With grand exterior views, filigreed inscriptions and bejeweled floral mosaics. (IDA108, $75.00)
 		  
Taj Mahal, Passion and Genius at the Heart of the Moghul Empire  •  Diana Preston  •  Michael Preston   • ART & ARCHITECTURE  •  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 Snow Leopard  •  Peter Matthiessen   • EXPLORATION • FAVORITE  •  The most perceptive, acutely observed and personal of all his books, Matthiessen's account of a five-week journey through Nepal with naturalist George Schaller combines their quest for the elusive cat with a moving introduction to Buddhism and the people and culture of the Himalayas. (NPL03, $16.00)
 		  
A Princess Remembers, The Memoirs of the Maharani of Jaipur  •  Devi Gayatri   • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 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  •  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)
 		  
Nine Lives, In Search of the Sacred in Modern India  •  William Dalrymple   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE  •  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)
 		  
A Passage to India  •  E.M. Forster   • LITERATURE  •  Forster's enduring masterpiece of the clash between Indian and British culture tells the story of an Indian official who falls foul of his colonial masters. Centered around an ill-fated trip to the Ajanta caves, this elegant book beautifully evokes the sophistication and savagery of the British Raj. (IDA26, $14.00)
 		  
Beneath a Marble Sky, A Love Story  •  John Shors   • LITERATURE  •  Built to mourn the tragic death of the emperor's wife, the Taj Mahal is at the center of this murderous, fantastical and dazzling tale, told from the point of view of daughter Princess Jaharana. (IDA301, $15.00)
 		  
India, A Traveler's Literary Companion  •  Chandrahas Choudhury   • ANTHOLOGY  •  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)
 		  
Midnight's Children  •  Salman Rushdie   • LITERATURE • 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 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)
 		  
The White Tiger, A Novel  •  Aravind Adiga   • LITERATURE  •  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)
 		  
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)
 		  
India: Kingdom of the Tiger  •  Bruce Neibaur   • NATURAL HISTORY  •  This dazzling film of tigers in the wild and pioneering conservation efforts was filmed on location at Bhandhavgarh Tiger Reserve. (IDA248, $19.99)
 		  
India: Land of the Tiger  •  National Geographic Society   • NATURAL HISTORY  •  Come as close as you dare to these wild cats in all their royal splendor as you and National Geographic journey deep into one of the World's Last Wild Places. (IDA620, $19.95)
 		  
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)
 		  
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)
 		  
 
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