This book is excellent for the aspiring Mehndi artist. It gives you a little historical and botanical information about the henna plant and it's uses. It has a very to easy follow recipe for making your own paste and practical how to designs. The book touches on the symbolic signifigance that can be bestowed in a Mehndi design. I would have liked to see maybe another page or two of symbolic designs. Overall I must say I really enjoyed the book.

I recommend this as a first book for any beginner Mehndi reader. This book allows you to decide how far you want to go with Mehndi. The book is quick and easy to read with the bare minimum of history. There are cautions and tips for beginners and general descriptions of several methods of application and types of henna. After reading this, I'm ready to proceed to more detailed Mehndi books with historical facts and symbolic meanings.

Although I already have the spectacular book Mehndi: The Timeless Art of Henna Painting by Loretta Roome, Carine Fabius' MEHNDI is another must have book. She explains where heena is practiced and where it is not. She gives history of its use and even explains the meanings of many symbols and how they should be used (for those who want to be sensitive to various sacred elements). What I find absolutely WONDERFUL about Ms.Fabius' approach is that she has MORE than 25 pages dedicated to helping one create a myriad of designs. This feature along with professional tips and other great content is what prompts me to give MEHNDI a five star rating. It is very evident this book was not thrown together to make a quick buck. On the contrary, on every page one can get the sense that Ms.Fabius has a passion for Heena, and I thank her for sharing her knowledge

Stanley Wolpert's book on the history of India remains the most comprehensive and readable work ever written on this subject. The extensive story of the people of the Indian subcontinent, belonging to four different nations, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, from 2500 BC to the end of the 20th century is beautifully laid out in this book. Wolpert has successfully and honestly documented the struggles and aspirations of the people of this subcontinent.

India is a land of complexities and contradictions, with variety in faith, ethnic background, language and lifestyle. Therefore it is hard to capture the spirit of this land and its people. Wolpert has been successful with his mastery and expertise over the cultures, languages and faiths of these people belonging to various subgroups. Above all, it is his love for this land and its people that is evident in the pages of this well-written book. For anyone interested in India this is the book to begin with, and indeed it is an easy read.

This was an excellent book. I am an Indian, and went through schooling in India where we were shoved "politically correct" history through our throat. This book clears up so much. For instance even today Indian textbooks refer to the mughal invaders as great men (to pacify certain minority communities). Mr. Wolpert is not averse to write about them as they actually were; marauders and looters.

Not only I feel better informed about India, but I have a better perspective about my own self, and psyche.

A must read if you want to know the history of India in a few interesting pages. Although it is a history text, it reads like a novel.

Stanley Wolpert devoted to the study of the history of the Indian sub continent has produced a remarkable book on India. If you have just enough time to read only one book on India, I will definitely recommend this one.

The history and the pluralistic culture of India are indeed complex. Wolpert provides a panoramic view of the development of Indian culture that has been formed through amalgamation and mixing of many cultures, races and religions. And he has done quite well. I am also very impressed with the fact that he has not adopted the usual western paternalistic attitudes towards his subject.

Wolpert's book should be read not only by the historians, but also people in the field of business, particularly those gurus of globalization who chaff at the slow pace of changes in countries like India. Wolpert provides a well-documented story of the plunder and subjugation of the Indians carried out in the name of international trade. After all East India Company was just another multinational company. To save the interests of the Company and its members the British government had to take over India.

But one can't blame the British for the take over. The late eighteen century saw India as a divided nation, various factions based on religion, caste and regional roots made it ripe for foreign invasions. What happened in India also linked to the wider scene in other part of the world. Lord Cornwallis who suffered a humiliating defeat in New York, appeared in India as the powerful general and did all he could to establish his might. Fights among the different kings in Europe had direct bearing on their fights in India.

To his credit, Wolpert has carried his story right up to the present time and made a heroic attempt to portray the current happenings in simplified ways. I however, detect a pro- American bias in this part of his book. The Nobel Peace Prize Winner Kisinger had a role in pushing the India- Pakistan war leading to the creation Bangladesh, but that was glossed over. Instead, Wolpert portrays Indira Gandhi choosing Russia over the western alliance and thus deviating from her father's policy of non-alignment. As a person who lived in the USA during the Nixon, I vividly remember how this Metternich of the US nudged the sub continent to war.

In any case, Wolpert has produced a very good book free from ideological preaching. It is a good book to read and have.

THE BOOK PROVIDES A WEALTH OF DETAIL ON EVENTS AND INCIDENTS ABOUT WITCH VERY LITTLE WAS KNOWN A RESULT OF GENERAL ZIAS IRON GRIP ON MEDIA.ANWAR OUTLINES CLEARLY AND WITH MUCH DOCUMENTS,THE GENESIS AND DEVELOPMNT OF A TERRORIST GROUP SET UP BY MURTAZA ,THE ELDEST SON OF EXECUTED PAKISTANI PRIME MINISTER ALI BHUTTO.THE B0OK IS NOT ONLY INFORMATIVE BUT GOOD READ.

The Terrorist Prince : The Life and Death of Murtuza Bhutto
Great book, I suggest everyone to read this book and every other book writted by Raja Anwar, he is an exquisite author who captured my attention while reading this book.

MURTAZA EMERGES FROM THIS HORRIFYING NARRATIVE AS A MINDLESS ,CRUEL ,WRECKLESS AND DISHONEST BRAT WHO NEVER GREW UP. ALL THE BHUTTOS SHOWED ASTONISHING HEARTLESSNESS IN THERE TREATMENT OF THE FAMILIES OF THOSEWHO DIED UNDER TORTURE OR IN GALLOWS TO RESTORE THEIR PARTY AND THEM TO POWER . THE STORY HAS AN ABSORBING THEME AND A STUUNNING TABLU OF MACABRE DETAILS. IT IS THE RAW MATERIAL OF HISTORY AND ONE SHOULD NOT LET IT GO UNREAD.

Ibn Ishaq is one of the earliest Islamic historians. This book deals in detail with genealogy of Muhammad and events relating his life and death. The emphasis is on the events regarding Muhammad's childhood and manhood. It elaborates on the policies of Muhammad and the way he managed the infant Islamic state. I think this book should be used as a paradigm for the making for a true Islamic state. Many of Muhammad's practices described in this book are unknown to majority of Muslims. As Muslims I believe that it is the responsibility of them to read this book and further investigate their governments and their policies. I believe Islam is very much perceived as a totalitarian religion, which has nothing to do with the reality. The true Islamic beliefs and administration of the government can only be explored by reading materials such as this where we can see how Muhammad himself conducted the state and then relate it to modern times. Therefore it is imperative for Muslims and non-Muslims to launch their own enquiry and investigate the true meaning and purpose of Islam in the light of Koran, Traditions of Muhammad and early historical events documented by either Ibn Isahq, al-Tabari, Ibn Saad or al-Bladhuri (these the earliest sources).

One of the most influential and interesting books I have ever read, beautifully translated in the opinion of one who knows some Arabic. Not only a precious source on the life of Muhammand but also on Arabic literature and culture and Islam. This is a book which deserves to known by people outside of the field of Arabic and Islamic studies; it is one of the great biographies of all time.

Ibn Ishaq is one of the earliest Islamic historians. This book deals in detail with genealogy of Muhammad and events relating his life and death. The emphasis is on the events regarding Muhammad's childhood and manhood. It elaborates on the policies of Muhammad and the way he managed the infant Islamic state. I think this book should be used as a paradigm for the making for a true Islamic state. Many of Muhammad's practices described in this book are unknown to majority of Muslims. As Muslims I believe that it is the responsibility of them to read this book and further investigate their governments and their policies. I believe Islam is very much perceived as a totalitarian religion, which has nothing to do with the reality. The true Islamic beliefs and administration of the government can only be explored by reading materials such as this where we can see how Muhammad himself conducted the state and then relate it to modern times. Therefore it is imperative for Muslims and non-Muslims to launch their own enquiry and investigate the true meaning and purpose of Islam in the light of Koran, Traditions of Muhammad and early historical events documented by either Ibn Isahq, al-Tabari, Ibn Saad or al-Bladhuri (these the earliest sources).

This is a good general reference book for what is available to do in South Korea. While the "attractions" mentioned are mostly "tourist traps" or information available from the tourist kiosks in Korea, this guide provides an excellent overview. It really shines in the cultural aspects, providing useful information on the culture and the history of Korea. The worst part of this book is that it doesn't have as many hotel listings as other guides. Nothing is worse then not having a place to sleep.

Last year, I lived in Korea for 10 months. I took two guidebooks with me, Lonely Planet and Moon Handbooks. Moon handbooks was by far the superior book. It has everything in it. The first two hundred pages give an introduction to the history, culture, and important travel tips. This was very useful if you're going to the country to learn about the culture as well as see the sights. This book gives a lot of history and even myths and stories about the sites around Korea. Lonely Planet didn't give much information on the cities and sites(Kyoungju, one of the cultural sites of the world, had only a couple of pages on it, whereas the Moon guide had 50); many of the places I went weren't even in Lonely Planet. It tended to focus on hotels and places to eat. I didn't stay in a lot of hotels while I was there, but the ones I did stay at were in the Moon Handbook and were everything they said they'd be. If you're going to Korea and want to learn about the places you're going to, take the Moon Handbook. I never used my Lonely Planet handbook, and left it there when I came home. I still have my Moon Handbook and hope to use it if I get the chance to return.

I've lived for Korea for the past five years. I've looked at all the guides and books about Korea. Well, most of them. This is the best book I've encountered about Korea. I always use. It's much more thorough than the competions (you know who's) guide book. If you're going to Korea, this is the book you need.

I read this book before moving to Korea. The book prepared me for SOME of the differences between Koreans and Westerners, but some of the information was extremely outdated. The book is good for people to get a general idea of the culture in Korea, but Culture Shock!: Korea, needs to be updated. Most of the information on the relationships between men and women in Korea is just plain wrong.

I read this entire book prior to going to Korea in Nov 2002, and it was very good preparation for a very different culture, one that I already thought I knew pretty well. On the other hand, it did little to prepare me for the fact that a major cultural shift is occurring in Korea, with modern Korea blending western and eastern cultures. For example, respect of elders is still a (very nice) part of the culture, while knowledge of English and western pop culture is much more common among the younger folk. Even the "outdated" information in this book gives insight on today's customs, which seem to be evolving on a year-to-year basis; thus, I forgive this book for not being really current, or the authors omission of the culture of the younger generation. Yes, some sections were too outdated, silly, and based on uncommon experiences (see the cute 'cultural quiz' in the back), but I think it's probably the best book out there regarding the 'culture shock' you will experience.
Things that need to be included: A better understanding of the agrarian history of Korea will prepare one for the sights of cabbage and rice fields interspersed within the city, and the fact that bul-go-gi or kal-bi (bbq beef) is much more expensive than your typical vegetable dish. There should be more useful expressions in the back of the book. For example, here is a typical conversation: "Hello. Where is the bathroom? I don't speak Korean. Do you speak English? Thank you." The Olympics 1988 and World Cup 2002 have made the cities much more tourist- and western- friendly. However, there are negative views towards the American presence, especially since there have been some highly publicized tragedies involving the US military recently. Tap water quality (applying western standards) has improved greatly in the major cities, but still remains an issue in the rural areas. You need to combine this book with an updated travel guide (and more knowledge of current events) for the best preparation.

I read this book about two months before taking a two week trip to Korea. Just about every cultural experience I had was outlined in the book. In researching other Korean books, this is the only comprehensive book on culture I could find. Don't just read it, study it. However, please take some time to really enjoy the Korean culture.

At its worst, /Snakes and Ladders/ is, indeed, portentous, ancedotal, and loosely tethered to the finer details of fact.

But remember, /Snakes and Ladders/ is not a 10-volume, library-edition encyclopedia of Indian history 1900-2000. It's just a light little book of pleasant essays, many of them having appeared in magazines. I consider it the Indian equivalent of a Molly Ivins book -- interesting and entertaining, and a delightful read to the foreign reader (Ivins, non-Texan; for Mehta, non-Indian).

The general emotional tone of the book is very interesting -- it's the tone of someone not exactly willing to write a rousing patriotic hymn to their country, but yet still wanting to express quite a bit of hope about the prospects of continued democracy there. Frankly, that makes it refreshing to read -- especially considering that the country is question is one that most foreigners think of as a source for new strains of hepatitis, not insights into the democratic process.

A very beautifully written book. The author has been very unbiased and yet so affectionate in her narration. Its a book all Indians can relate to and all foreigners must read before coming to India. She has captured all the vistas India has to offer, good, bad and ugly! Terrific!

I have trashed this writer in the past so trust me when I say this is one of her finest works. It's emotive, beautiful, descriptive (without being overt), and a wonderfully written feature about India. This book both instructs and entertains. I was engrossed from the start to the finish. As someone who recently moved to India I would not hesitate to reccomend it to anyone who wants to visit or has an interest in India.

I spent an entire week on Meatless Days, having picked it up after reading one of the book's chapters in an anthology of Indian writing. As a teenager, I'd just like to share my views about the book. Do note that it wasn't part of any required reading list, so I wasn't forced to complete it, nothing like that.
Calling it her memoirs might not be completely accurate, because Ms Suleri has stated that not everything in the book actually happened, ie she did make up some of the events. However, she does insist that the language is a true reflection of the way in which she thinks, and speaks. If she is to believed, I think that makes her quite an extraordinary woman. Of all the Sub-Cont. writers whom I've read, no other writer quite matches up to the complexity of her language, and the intricacy with which she readily assembles metaphors for largely universal concepts such as 'the enigma of arrival' (to borrow a Naipaulian title) and gender in the Indian/Pakistani home.
Her writing is a joy to 'decode', and it really amazed me how she often drops hints of a certain image early in a chapter only to develop it beautifully many paragraphs later. I found myself intrigued by her style. This is a book that requires, and deserves utmost concentration in the reading. Missing out on a single conceit might render whole sentences incomprehensible to the less-attentive reader. I actually plan to re-read Meatless Days, just to enjoy it from the perspective of someone who has already made initial acquaintance. I do recommend re-reading it to most who've have the opportunity to finish this book once.
I also enjoyed Ms Suleri's fresh, and often satirical insights to such things as deaths, mourning, religion, and family. She certainly does put across her arguments very interestingly, and evocatively. There is a paragraph in which she cannot locate the graves of her mother and Ifat, and decides to leave the cemetery altogether, because she doesn't want to disrupt them from their restful peace. Not something that the reader might agree with, but the beauty of the book is that nothing is forced down the reader's throat. Ms Suleri certainly doesn't come across as someone who is philosophising at all.
Very highly recommended!

Sara Suleri's memoir is a wonderful example of the kind of literary production our faculty memebers should be producing--inspired, original, and compelling. Her non-academic writing, like her literary criticism, moves me to believe there are still people in the academy who understand what it is all about.

Suleri is definitely more cerebral than a lot of more mainstream novelists of the subcontinent, and that is to be expected. It is part of this memoirs charm that there is a pull between her intellectual curiosities/asides and the more narrative moments of pathos. This book does exactly what a memoir *should* do--it represent memories as the palimpsests that they are, all the while communicating the lingering feeling that the author associates with them. Really, a wonderful book.

Here is a book written with much candor, about a time and place most consider best left untouched. Suleri fills page after page with the heart-rending nostalgia of an immigrant who has gone, but has never forgotten. Her childhood, her innermost tormented thoughts, her journey across bonds and across continents - yes, even poor old Daadi - all are things that drive home the eloquence and the wit of her carefully crafted memoir.

Not only is Meatless Days a gem in the miniscule canon of Pakistani literature in English, it is a treat for readers of the postcolonial experience the world over. It is highly recommended.

This little book describes the author's initially quixotic quest to find the remnants of the world's longest hedge, briefly mentioned in an tome he finds in a used book store. Moxham discovers that British imperialists of the 19th century built a man-made barrier more than two thousand miles long, reaching across the Indian subcontinent. This hedge was designed to prevent the smuggling of salt from parts of India with low salt taxes to the area of Bengal, where salt taxes were very high. As Moxham expands his research into the history of this barrier, he discovers with growing horror the impact of imperial revenue policy on the lives of ordinary Indians, many of whom died because they could not afford the salt they needed in their diets. This previously neglected aspect of British imperial history makes one wonder how many other horrors lie buried in the dry pages of the Empire's official journals. Moxham, who writes in simple, declarative language, sometimes devotes too much space to the details of his encounters with modern-day Indians, though some of those encounters are charming. It is unfortunate that his book does not include a single photograph, such as one of the remaining piece of hedge he found. Michael Michaud, Vienna, Austria

This book was loaned to me by a friend. It's not the sort of thing I normally read but the idea that there was a modern "wonder of the world" that I had never even heard of intrigued me. Perhaps because I'm not a student of India or of the history of British rule in India I found it fascinating. The author tells 2 stories here - one is the history of the cruel Salt Tax imposed by the East India Company and the other is the story of his attempt to find a remnant of the Great Hedge which was planted in the 1800's as a barrier to prevent salt smuggling.

For a non-historian like me this was a perfect glimpse into Indian history, including some discussion of Gandhi. I also enjoyed reading about the author's travels in India as he searched for the hedge. Everywhere he went he ran into friendly people who welcomed him into their homes, shared tea with him and tried to help him. His descriptions of the countryside and culture really gave some insight into the daily lives of the people there. One of my favorite passages talked about his visit to the Amareshwara Temple in Omkareshwar and a ceremony that has been performed by priests there every day since 1795 in honor of Rani Ahilya Bai. I recommend this book.

If you haven't heard of the Great Hedge of India, don't be surprised. Roy Moxham spent his every holiday in India, and thought he knew something of the nation, but when he came across an old book that mentioned the hedge, he had never heard of it. He found more references to it, did all the research he could, and then went on a quest to find it. _The Great Hedge of India: The Search for the Living Barrier that Divided a People_ (Carroll and Graf) is the delightful story of that quest. Moxham had the idea in the beginning that he was searching for a quintessentially British folly, but learned in his researches that it was a far-from-harmless monstrosity, "a terrible instrument of British oppression." He gives us the history of salt and of the salt tax, as well as salt physiology, and it's role in the deaths of millions in the last century. The salt tax and the hedge played a role in that sad story.

Fortunately, while Moxham has to fill us in on such history (and the history of the comparable French tax on salt), he also has the much more pleasant task of telling us about his researches and his travels. We get to learn about his finding period maps, how difficult they were to read, and how he came to use the Global positioning System on his hunt. But the cheeriest parts of the story have to do with his visits with friends and strangers in India. He is able to describe with good humor the frustration of travel by motorized rickshaw, inexplicably efficient or inefficient trains, and pedestrian searches in the heat and dust of the Indian plains. His Indian friends were unflaggingly helpful. The strangers he met were almost always interested in his quest, although intensive farming and road building have wiped out almost all the traces of the hedge, and the community memory of it is almost entirely obliterated, too. They supported him when all seemed lost. This is fine travel writing.

Moxham succeeded in his quest to find some remnant of the hedge, but more importantly, he has made history by rescuing it from obscurity. The hedge was an amazing physical achievement, but perhaps because its purpose was so ignominious people preserved little record of it. Anyone reading this fascinating book, however, will be impressed by the quest for the hedge, and that its history has not been lost.

"Five Past Midnight in Bhopal" documents the story of the famous disaster at the Union Carbide plant in India that killed between 16,000 and 30,000 people. The reason the death toll is so variable is because most of the victims were among the very poorest in a country that has a staggering numbers of such people. Whole familes were killed, leaving nobody behind to report their deaths. Authors Dominic Lapierre and Javier Moro recount the disaster by using the technique of the non-fiction novel rather than reporting the events in a straight narrative. There are no notes and no bibliography, just a 400 page narrative of the story from the inception of the plans to build the Union Carbide plant to the aftermath of the tragedy.

The authors build the story through interviews with the workers at the plant, survivors from the city and several Union Carbide employees. The tale that emerges is one of an unfortunately preventable disaster that occurred because of misguided corporate decisions, the faultiest of which was probably the decision to build and run such a technologically complex and potentially dangerous facility in a third world country in the first place. Union Carbide also suffered from a misreading of the Indian marketplace and ultimately from a horribly misguided cost cutting plan that decimated safety proceedures at the plant and directly led to the disaster.

Lapierre and Moro are excellent writers whose prose is compellingly readable, though a bit overly dramatic at times. The style of the book is likely to put off some readers, who may be expecting more straightforward reporting. I should also note that the book concludes with an appeal for donations to help the poverty stricken in India, further illustrating that it is not a work of journalism. Nevertheless, this is an important story that deserves to retold as a cautionary note to both big business and to governments.

Overall, a gruesome story of man made disaster that most readers will likely find both moving and enraging.

This book expertly tells the story of the disaster that occurred in Bhopal, India in December 1984. This disaster, which occurred following a gas leak from a Union Carbide plant, claimed the lives of 16000 to 30000 people. In this book, the author gives the story of the tragedy beginning with the planning of the factory to the present day and includes details on the present whereabouts and situations of the main characters. While the book details a profoundly tragic situation, I came to a different conclusion than the author. It is the author's conclusion that the tragedy was avoidable and an act of criminality on the part of Union Carbide. However, after reading the words of the author, I came to the conclusion that the gas leak was an accident of terrible, epic proportion. Perhaps in the end this does not matter anyway. Regardless, the book does tell the tragic story of the senseless loss of life that occurred in Bhopal.

Rarely I start a book and can not put it down until the very last page. Being a avid reader of various topics for many years, Five Past Midnight at Bhopal was one such book, that made me stay till two in the morning, unable to put it down.
I faintly remember the incident at Bhopal, having been fairly young at the time to take in all the details, or appreciate the human tragedy that has occured, so I did not hesitate to buy this book as soon as it was published, being previously unfamilair with the works of Lapierre and Moro.
What makes this book so powerful is its unflinching humanity. Some of the thousands of victims that died that night, suddenly were alive with a history, and the authors with obvious sympathy, transform wretched, destitute, outcast people into heroes..their lives, joys, aspirations, optimism in the face of impossible odds is a wonderful triumph of the human spirit, regardless of how many gods it worships.
The moment when one of these people gets the first TV set, to the amazement of all the slum dwellers, is very touching and powerful..When the wedding preparations are made, and the joy of the parents borrowing money from a usurer to make it the most beautiful day of their daughter's life, is full of dignity..In short, the authors succeed on one level, to pay hommage to people that are forgotten in their own country and certainly in the world.
Yet the whole book is about the tragedy of the factory, and although I believe that the incident was partly caused by the cost cutting of Union Carbide,partly because of the inefficiency, and lack of training of the employees..(I did not join the authors in their apparent anti globalization undertones), the effect and devastation was mind boggling.
Yet why this book works beautifully, is simply because the authors have presented us with the lives of many characters, and when the tragedy strikes, we care enough about these people to turn every page in anticipation to know their fate.
It also reads like a thriller, escalating tension up until the fateful moment..
I did not finish the book accusing anyone, it is a tragic accident, rather I had a great feeling about how great the human spirit can be, the notion of selfless sacrifice coming alive.
If anything, I think the proceeds of this book will help some of the victims, which will make it an essential buy.