What a great read this book is, and reading it in cold, wintery conditions, whilst on holiday in the Himalayan hills of Uttarkhand in northern India, made it a perfect fit. Conrad Anker and David Roberts delve into one of the long-standing mysteries of high-altitude mountaineering, namely whether George Mallory …
What a riveting read this well-researched, well-written book is – and, by the way, let me give you its full title, before we go any further: “If – The Untold Story of Kipling’s American Years.” Mr. Benfey shines a light on the years that Rudyard Kipling and his young family …
Having lived in Mumbai during the tumultuous days of 1992 and 1993, when this most cosmopolitan of Indian cities city lived through anti-Muslim riots and the subsequent bomb attacks, I was naturally intrigued by the story of Sanjay Dutt. Mr. Dutt, a Bollywood star, and the son of a well-respected, …
It took me a while to settle into this book, but once I did – what a treat. “Tamarind City” is the story of a man’s discovery of the southern Indian city of Chennai (though lots of people still know it by its older name of Madras). Bishwanath Ghosh is …
“The Naga Queen” by Vicky Thomas, a biography of Ursula Graham Bower, has recently been published by The History Press. When I reviewed Ms Graham Bower’s own wonderful book, “Naga Path” a couple of months ago, I began by stating that I am a friend of her daughter Catriona Child, …
Before reviewing Ursula Graham Bower’s “Naga Path”, let me put a couple of things in context, so that I don’t seem to be unfairly partial towards this wonderful book. The author’s daughter, Catriona, is a friend, and indeed we are in book club together in Delhi. So, yes, I knew …
I was beyond excited to get my hands on a preview copy of the biography of the leading political figure in India. Living in Delhi, as I do, we hear and read about Sonia-ji (and Rahul-ji) day after day. Their every move is reported upon, usually in breathless, uncritical prose. …
Well, you live and you learn. Intrigued by the title, I found out that to describe a woman as “round-heeled” implies that she is, well, an easy lay. A whore. But absolutely not the delightful Jane Juska, who uses the expression with her witty tongue very firmly in her well-bred …
“Kipling Sahib” by Charles Allen is a well-written, well-researched, fascinating look into the Indian part of Rudyard Kipling’s life, those relatively few years he spent in India, but which marked him for life. And for literature. Charles Allen brings to this book all the detailed yet seemingly relaxed research of …
