Books about Subcontinent from Amazon.com

For this companion volume to the award-winning Hot Sour Salty Sweet, Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid travel west from Southeast Asia to that vast landmass the colonial British called the Indian Subcontinent. It includes not just India, but extends north to Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal and as far south as Sri Lanka, the island nation so devastated by the recent tsunami. For people who love food and cooking, this vast region is a source of infinite variety and eye-opening flavors.

Home cooks discover the Tibetan-influenced food of Nepal, the Southeast Asian tastes of Sri Lanka, the central Asian grilled meats and clay-oven breads of the northwest frontier, the vegetarian cooking of the Hindus of southern India and of the Jain people of Gujarat. It was just twenty years ago that cooks began to understand the relationships between the multifaceted cuisines of the Mediterranean; now we can begin to do the same with the foods of the Subcontinent..
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In a second edition of their successful Concise History of Modern India, Barbara Metcalf and Thomas Metcalf explore India's modern history afresh and update the events of the last decade. These include the takeover of Congress from the seemingly entrenched Hindu nationalist party in 2004, India's huge advances in technology and the country's new role as a major player in world affairs. From the days of the Mughals, through the British Empire, and into Independence, the country has been transformed by its institutional structures. It is these institutions which have helped bring about the social, cultural and economic changes that have taken place over the last half century and paved the way for the modern success story. Despite these advances, poverty, social inequality and religious division still fester. In response to these dilemmas, the book grapples with questions of caste and religious identity, and the nature of the Indian nation..
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Since the start of the 1990s, despite tougher competition than ever before from Hollywood, a rebirth and flourishing of cinema has been taking place in parts of Europe, the Middle East, East Asia and South Asia. This book provides an overview of the cinemas of these regions, interpreting some of the recent developments as strategic responses to globalization. Highlighting transnational and cross-cultural structures, influences and themes, it offers:

* A broad critical context for the study of contemporary world cinema, introducing key concepts and issues including modes of production and distribution.

* Cultural and historical background for the cinemas of each region, with analyses of regional aesthetic styles and comparisons with Hollywood models.

* Case studies of Scandinavian, Iranian, Hong Kong and Indian cinema.

* Close analysis of twelve landmark films, including Thomas Vinterberg's Festen, Samira Makhmalbaf's The Apple, Wong Kar-Wai's In the Mood For Love, and Ashutosh Gowariker's Lagaan.

Contemporary World Cinema is vital for students and teachers of film, media, cultural studies and modern languages, as well as general world cinema enthusiasts.

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INTRODUCTION

Nepal forms the very watershed of Asia. Landlocked between India and Tibet, it spans terrain from subtropical jungle to the icy Himalaya, and contains or shares eight of the world’s ten highest mountains. Its cultural landscape is every bit as diverse: a dozen major ethnic groups, speaking as many as fifty languages and dialects, coexist in this narrow, jumbled buffer state, while two of the world’s great religions, Hinduism and Buddhism, overlap and mingle with older tribal practices.

Yet it’s a testimony to Nepali tolerance and good humour that there’s no tradition of ethnic or religious strife. Unlike India, Nepal was never colonized, a fact which comes through in fierce national pride and other, more idiosyncratic ways. Founded on trans-Himalayan trade, the dense, medieval cities display unique pagoda-style architecture, not to mention an astounding flair for festivals and pageantry. Above all, though, Nepal is a nation of unaffected villages and terraced countryside – more than eighty percent of the population lives off the land – and whether you’re trekking, biking or bouncing around in packed buses, sampling this simple lifestyle is perhaps the greatest pleasure of all.

But it would be misleading to portray Nepal as a fabled Shangri-la. One of the world’s poorest countries, it suffers from many of the pangs and uncertainties of the developing world; development is coming in fits and starts, and not all of it is being shared equitably. Heavily reliant on its big-brother neighbours, Nepal was, until 1990, run by one of the last remaining absolute monarchies, a regime that combined China’s repressiveness and India’s bureaucracy in equal measure. It’s now a democracy, but a very precarious one. Political freedom has done little to improve the lot of the average family, while corruption and frequent changes of government have led to widespread disillusion and spawned an intractable Maoist insurgency.

Travel within Nepal isn’t straightforward or predictable. Certain tourist areas are highly developed, even overdeveloped, but facilities elsewhere are rudimentary; getting around is time-consuming and often uncomfortable. Nepalis are well used to shrugging off such inconveniences with the all-purpose phrase, Ke garne? (What to do?). Nepal is also a more fragile country than most – culturally as well as environmentally – so it’s necessary to be especially sensitive as a traveller..
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If it is almost unprecedented for a head of state to publish a memoir while still in office, Pervez Musharraf is no ordinary head of state. As the president of Pakistan since 1999, he occupies the most dangerous job in the world, and he continues to play a crucial role in the global war on terror. A former commando who was born just four years before the creation of Pakistan, Musharraf grew up with his country. He rose through army ranks, serving a bewildering succession of military and democratic regimes, and reached the apex of the world's most populous Islamic state at a time of growing Muslim militancy. A onetime supporter of the Taliban, a general who fought in several wars, President Musharraf took a decisive turn against militant Islam in 2001. Since then he has survived two assassination attempts; rooted out militants in his own government; helped direct countless raids against Al Qaeda both in his cities and in the mountains; and tracked Osama Bin Laden with technical and human intelligence.

When you hold the world's most dangerous job, you have little left to lose - - and as a result, In the Line of Fire is astonishingly revealing and honest about dozens of topics of intense interest to the world. Among its many revelations: exactly how Pakistani authorities tracked down and smashed three major Al Qaeda command-and-control centers in the mountains; how Al Qaeda's many-layered structure was revealed after the assassination attempts; how Osama Bin Laden's communication network was breached, and how his subsequent courier network was compromised; why Bin Laden is no longer in charge of Al Qaeda, and yet why his capture is so sensitive; why the costs of the Iraq War have been so great for the west, and for moderate Muslims; what the interrogations of A.Q. Khan have revealed; what it has been like to deal with the Bush Administration; how Pakistan and India have avoided nuclear confrontation; and much more.

The terrible earthquake of 2005, killing nearly 40,000 Pakistanis, is just one chapter in a life and career that has been filled with danger and drama. The worldwide launch of President Musharraf 's memoir, which begins with its American publication, promises to be a sensation..
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Located on the borders of China, Central Asia, India, and Pakistan, Kashmir has now confirmed its status as a battleground for two of the world's newest nuclear powers, India and Pakistan. In this new edition, Victoria Schofield now traces the origins of the state in the nineteenth century and the controversial 'sale' by the British of the predominantly Muslim valley to a Hindu Maharaja. In this widely acclaimed book, she explains the serious issues that divide India and Pakistan and assesses the military positions of both states as their troops mass on both sides of the border. Schofield's new edition provides complete up-to-date coverage and analysis of the current crisis..
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Both a magnificent celebration and a call for compassion, Himalaya is a panorama of the unique history and uncertain future of the world's highest region and its colorful inhabitants. The awesome beauty of these lofty peaks, including Everest, Kanchenjunga, and Annapurna, is brought to life by gifted photographers like Steve McCurry, Art Wolfe, and many more, while such notable contributors as Jimmy Carter, the Dalai Lama, Sir Edmund Hillary, Tenzing Norgay, and over two dozen others share vivid personal tales of Himalayan life, recount their efforts to encourage hope and opportunity, and emphasize the urgent need to preserve the vibrant variety of these ancient landscapes and cultures as they face the mixed blessings of the modern world.

The book begins by introducing the region: its astonishing biodiversity, its mountaineering history, its rich ethnic heritage, and the interplay between two major religions, Hinduism and Buddhism. Himalaya addresses challenges to these mountainous domains: political turmoil, population growth, touristic demands, and ecological stresses. Finally, a compelling conclusion comes in the stories of doctors, conservationists, environmentalists, and volunteers of every kind, whose efforts provide a global model for practical results and lasting relief, still respecting, honoring, and protecting the magic of a place unlike any other on Earth..
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