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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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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An exploration of 99 classic myths of India from an entirely non-Western paradigm that provides a fresh understanding of the Hindu spiritual landscape

• Compares and contrasts Indian mythology with the stories of the Bible, ancient Egypt, Greece, Scandinavia, and Mesopotamia

• Looks at the evolution of Indian narratives and their interpretations over the millennia

• Demonstrates how the mythology, rituals, and art of ancient India are still vibrant today and inform the contemporary generation

From the blood-letting Kali to the mysterious Ganesha, the Hindu spiritual landscape is populated by characters that find no parallel in the Western spiritual world. Indian Mythology explores the rich tapestry of these characters within 99 classic myths, showing that the mythological world of India can be best understood when we move away from a Western, monotheistic mindset and into the polytheistic world of Hindu traditions.

Featuring 48 artistic renderings of important mythological figures from across India, the author unlocks the mysteries of the narratives, rituals, and artwork of ancient India to reveal the tension between world-affirming and world-rejecting ideas, between conformism and contradiction, between Shiva and Vishnu, Krishna and Rama, Gauri and Kali. This groundbreaking book opens the door to the unknown and exotic, providing a glimpse into the rich mythic tradition that has empowered millions of human beings for centuries..
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Ideal for students of regional studies as well as for travelers and historians, this book offers much insight into the key economic, social, and political developments that have shaped both the individual countries of South Asia and the region as a whole..
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Although much has changed since the first edition's original publication, Robert Stern retains his belief in the remarkable continuity of India's institutions. This comprehensive introduction to modern India covers its caste and class systems; venerable faiths and extraordinary ethnic diversity; imperial past and post-Independence contribution to the global economy. Stern demonstrates throughout this study why India remains the most enduring democracy in the developing world. First Edition Hb (1993): 0-521-42105-5 First Edition Pb (1993); 0-521-42106-3.
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In Sources of East Asian Tradition, Wm. Theodore de Bary offers a selection of essential readings from his immensely popular anthologies Sources of Chinese Tradition, Sources of Korean Tradition, and Sources of Japanese Tradition so readers can experience a concise but no less comprehensive portrait of the social, intellectual, and religious traditions of East Asia. Volume 1 samples writings from the earliest times to 1600, illuminating life in early China and the first imperial age, as well as the profound impact of Daoism, Buddhism, the Confucian revival, and Neo-Confucianism; the origins of Korean culture and political structures, up through the Choson dynasty; and major developments in early and medieval Japan. De Bary maintains his trademark balance of source materials, including seminal readings in the areas of history, society, politics, education, philosophy, and religion, thereby continuing his own tradition of providing an exceptional resource for teachers, scholars, students, and the general reader.

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This is the foremost work on the social and political history of the Pathans, from 550 BC to AD 1957. It includes an epilogue written, just before the author's death, in the light of recent events in Afghanistan..
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