1 comments about Treasured Islands: Cruising the South Seas With Robert Louis Stevenson.

1. Treasured Islands: Crossing The South Seas with Robert Louis Stevenson by Lowell Holmes (Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, Wichita State University) is a personal look at a beloved and renowned author of classics in terms of his high adventures on the South Pacific between 1888 and 1890. Life on the islands, European religious influence, and the saga of indigenous populations are all covered in this dramatic, exciting, and well-researched account. Biographer Lowell Holmes draws upon his impressive expertise regarding the life and work of Robert Louis Stevenson (he produced a documentary film on Stevenson in the Pacific) to deftly craft a work of historical accuracy and insight. Treasured Islands is a very highly recommended for personal, academic, and community library collections, and a "must" for admirers of Robert Louis Stevenson's literary works.

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1 comments about Australia: Journey Through A Timeless Land.

1. "Australia -journey of a timeless land" is a great book about a surely great land. The texts by roff smith present all the territories of the continent, góing from the north to the west coast, the southern vineyards to the eastcoast. Smith writes about the historical development, the social and political status quo, every time in a interesting way, often using a personal point of view, areporters point of view. The aborigines-tragedy has room as has the cruels of Tasmanias prisons of the 18th Century Really marvellous and overwhelming are the photographs of national-geographic stuff-member sam abell. Great landscapes, the special light of morning or evening gives the land a structure. Abell is able to bring the feeling of space on a simple sheet. And he captures with his mostley wide-angle optics decessif moments, where time and space meet at an certain point. And I think, time and space, open space are specific for Australia, that i have not ever visited. Sam Abell is a great artist, more than a photojournalist. You should read his "stay this moment"-book also. This australia-book is worth every dolllar.

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No comments about BALI & LOMBOK (EYEWITNESS TRAVEL GUIDE).

3 comments about Adventuring in New Zealand, Second Edition.

1. Adventuring in New Zealand turns out to be a fairly pedestrian travel guide, with little to recommend it. While claiming to be an "adventuring guide", there's little more about hiking, parks, fishing, climbing, etc. than any of the standard guidebooks. Design, illustrations, and indexing are second rate. Give this one a miss.



2. My partner and I found "Adventuring..." the single most useful guide for our visit to New Zealand in January 2003. I disagree with the prior negative customer review and wonder if M. Goldstein actually used this book for travel to New Zealand or was merely an armchair traveler seeking amusement.

   It's true this isn't the kind of general guidebook so ably done by Lonely Planet and others. Jefferies doesn't refer the reader to specific restaurants or lodgings. What she does superbly is to introduce each region of the country with a detailed essay on its flora, fauna, terrain and history.

   Her knowledge of New Zealand's parklands runs much deeper than a conventional guidebook. While not neglecting famous tourist attractions, she takes you far off the beaten path to smaller forest preserves that harbor natural treasures. The book is not a detailed trail guide, but it points you to the access points for the back country with useful general descriptions of many hikes.

   Jefferies doesn't glamorize. Her descriptions of the deforestation and other environmental abuses that New Zealand has suffered might unsettle a conventional sightseer. For the environmental traveler with a serious interest in the natural history of the islands, it's just right.




3. I am inclined to agree with reviewer Jaffe and the Editorial Reviews. As a native Kiwi I know Auckland and Fiordland well having hiked extensively in both areas.
   The Auckland sections covers the well known outdoor main attractions of the region well: the islands of the Hauraki Gulf and the extensive network of regional parks, many of which are coastal and have fantastic views from the walks in them.
   Fiordland is the "honey pot" for accessible wilderness hiking in New Zealand. The description of the History, National Parks, short day walks and longer multi-day treks on well formed tracks is quite good. The maps are a bit scant, but you will buy better maps when you arrive in an area. And NZ does publish a wide selection of very good maps of all our park network. For a day-by-day detailed guide to the walks you are better to buy the Lonely Planet "Tramping in New Zealand" (even us locals use it). The book index is not so good, even the Routeburn "Great walk" (the finest 3 day walk in NZ in my opinion) is not listed but you can find it on page 457 with a 1/2 page description of it. After 5 years the book is not really dated. The one new development in NZ is private walking tracks and I can recommend the Banks Peninsula Track just out of Christchurch (page 388 of the book).
   So as a one volume "outdoor type" guide to NZ the book is worth buying and fills a niche not quite met by Rough Guide or Lonely Planet.
   So come and visit us.

No comments about Walk About: "A Walk in the Woods", "Down Under".

5 comments about Butter Chicken in Ludhiana.

1. I personally think this book is amazing. I have travelled all over India myself and his description fits best to every little place he talks about. Extremely humourous and very informative. I would recommend this book to any person who wants to read about the true taste of India, its flavour and have a great laugh. I think Pankaj Mishra is a brilliant writer. I know I have read this book a number of times and will surely read it over and over again. Well Done. Kind regards, Siraj



2. I started this book one night just before going to bed,fairly certain that it will be some heavy stuff whose arcane language and endless descriptions will surely put me to sleep quickly. I ended up without getting a wink, even though the next day was a working day. I simply could not resist turning page after page. Midway, I started slowing down, savouring each sentence because I didn't want it to end.

   Frequently, I was just stunned. By the author's sharp insight into the minds of the people he met, especially in the first half, when he is in the north. The people he describes are not unusual or quirky. They are just everyday people. The kind Indians meet all the time in markets, bus stations and of course while in the train.(I can bet no one has described Indian train travel conversations as accurately as Pankaj Mishra has.)

   What Mishra does is point out with amazing sharpness, their quirks, their petty concerns, the conditioning of their minds, what's touching about their lives,and why these typical Indians are so so funny, when you step back and look at them,as if you were meeting them the first time.

   There is definitely something happening in Indian society. A huge undercurrent of social and economic change which in turn is changing the quality of people's values, customs, hopes and dreams.There's a lot of talk about the big city part of it, but no one's looking at the small towns. Mishra's focus on them is therefore topical, relevant and important.

   I have gone back several times to Butter Chicken in Ludhiana. Just to read my favourite portions, chuckle to myself and marvel at how real it is.

   That's the kind of book it is.




3. Butter Chicken in Ludhiana is a chronicle of Pankaj Mishra's travels
   in various Indian cities like Bundi, Udaipur, Bangalore, Benares, etc.
   Mr. Mishra meets various people along the way, and recounts interactions
   in each episode, often quoting entire conversations verbatim.

   The first thing which strikes the reader of this book is Mr. Mishra's
   seeming desire to seek out the worst in his fellow-Indians.
   He automatically imputes the people in this book with the
   worst motives (often in places where he is no position to guess -
   for example, a snide comment about drivers on the Delhi-Jaipur highway
   committing suicide in frustration or assuming that the boys
   at the Madras rail station are hanging around their grandmother only
   for the "inevitable cash gift"). Mr. Mishra rarely sees beyond
   the grime and dust immediately surrounding him, and launches into a
   diatribe against people and places the moment he gets an opening.
   This is probably the reason he fled India - he now lives in London.

   The big problem with this book, however is that it is little
   more than a diary of events which happened to Mr. Mishra on his
   travels. India is confusing, but this book even more so. What
   exactly is the author trying to convey ?

   A few chapters are quite bizarre.
   In the nice small town of Udaipur, for instance, instead of
   trying to understand why the people there are different,
   he complains that in spite of all he did "my notebook
   remained blank", before launching into a long and
   ultimately pointless story about Munna, a migrant
   from Ghazipur. The entire Benares chapter is an almost
   verbatim transcript of two conversations, and Mr. Mishra
   gives credence to some convoluted logic narrated to him
   to explain the eve-teasing phenomenon.

   Mr. Mishra takes a simplistic view of the explosive growth of
   satellite TV in India - he makes no attempt to understand the
   positive aspects of this phenomenon. He is clearly not interested
   in making an effort to understand people either - in one incident,
   when he meets people he doesn't like in a train, he avoids them
   by moving to a different compartment. He freely reports overheard
   conversations - eyes rolled to heaven - mostly amongst people
   depicted as utterly despicable. One can confidently say that
   the people he describes are not typical, but then Mr. Mishra seems to love sinking his teeth into a juicy bad guy any time he can find one.
   One gets the feeling that Mr. Mishra could easily have made a
   living writing parts for villains in soap operas and Bollywood
   movies.

   Ultimately, Mr. Mishra's sneering attitude, adopted from Naipaul,
   fails, because he has none of the compassion for India which
   lies behind Naipaul's questioning facade. The book remains
   a Naipaul-crossed kid's first foray into writing - an embarassing
   foray, which is best forgotten.




4. This book is not just about India. It is a melancholic account on the destruction of traditional life by a globalised, money ridden economy. The author longs for the simple sensual pleasures which, in his opinion, India of old used to offer.
   
   About 200 years ago Europe had the same problems with industrialisation India today faces with globalisation. Even now, in countries like Spain, Europe encounters them. The result is always the same. People have more money, but, in the long run, can buy less with it. They have to adapt to the rhythms of machines and computers which are different from the ones of the human body. They have to work faster and harder than ever. Today, European bodies are full of tensions. The quality of sex and food is not good. The social classes are still there.
   
   Mr. Mishra does not offer a solution. Europeans who are searching for for a way out, experiment with alternative life styles but this too often results in esoteric 'ecos' and 'ethnos' many of which are quite unattractive, drug ridden and boring. This is because for most Europeans it is too late. Their bodies are too spoilt and sick. It is to hope that Indians whose bodies still might be more sensitive to the violence of money and machines will be able to work on viable, attractive solutions. This is when India truly would be a light to the world.



5. Quite a boring & prudish account of his travels. I have travelled quite a bit, but never have I such a disconnect as with this book.
   To each his own, I guess. All in all, a book well worth AVOIDING.

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