This book is definitely one of the best book I ever read about a limited war between two countries. While I don't think the author has any bias against India, as one of my fellow reviewers suggests, I believe other reviewers have already discussed the merits of this book. I would only like to add three points in this discussion:
1. It is really sad that the UK's imperalism/colonailism haunts these two countires even after withdrawing from India. The MaMahon line is not a written agreement between UK & Chinese (Ching dynasty) governments but a product of some irresponsible officials in India & Tibet. The UK government should have the ultimate blame for the whole debacle.
2. It reminds us that how media can affect our point of view so easily. We must beware of our inherent assumption about the righteousness of a democratic government.
3. In view of Nehru's statement about "driving out the enemy", recent Indian leaders' decalration that China is still the biggest threat for India, I think these Indian leaders should concentrate on improving the life their people instead of fabricating an emeny from these agressive statements.

The book reveals a surprising fact that the British had secretly redrawn the Indo-China boundary without Chinese agreement. Moreover,

When the British relinquished the Indian Empire in 1947, they started to translate the McMahon Line from the maps as the effective northwest boundary of India, despite that the Line appeared on its maps only ten years before. As the British departed, the new Indian government assured that they would complete their work: "If anything, they intended to pursue an even more forward policy than had the British."

I can't believe that we were all fooled by the media. India, not China was the aggressor!

Research based mostly on Indian and British sources, well-written, important account of the historical events that led to the war, easy to read

This book is based almost exclusively on information available from Indian sources. Yet, the book faults Prime Minister Nehru of India primarily for provoking and then mis-managing the war. The book is a damning account of the ineptitude of top Indian political leadership in strategic matters. India, facing all the disadvantages of terrain, chose to pursue a 'Forward Policy' of establishing indefensible flag posts that could only be supplied by air, against a world-class PLA land army that held the advantage of a well-connected road network throughout some of the most inhospitable terrain in the world. After refusing to enter into meaningful negotiations on defining the border, Nehru pursued this myopic policy because he foolishly deluded himself into believing that the Chinese would be unwilling to enforce their territorial claims by force of arms. In the end, the war broke out at in a narrow Himalayan valley that could not possibly have been any more disadvantageous for Indians -- the Chinese positions overlooked a denuded, unready Indian infantry brigade which lacked ANY ARTILLERY SUPPORT WHATSOEVER, that was THREE WEEKS away from the nearest Indian roadhead by foot across high mountain passes and thick tropical forests, and supplied exclusively by erratic air drops. The Chinese, by contrast, had a 7-ton roadhead barely a few hours walk away. The book also severely castigates the Indian political leadership for interfering with the functioning of the military in matters of promotions of senior officers. The end result was that by 1962 the Indian General Staff had become mere supplicants of their political masters, and unable to counter impossible strategic/tactical demands with an objective, professional military analysis. Thus, senior military officers at the general staff level (who had never held major combat commands before) were often making decisions for individual battalions or companies -- all the while not protesting against the impossible demands being made of them. Another excellent account of the military aspect of the battle at Thag La is 'Himalayan Blunder' by Brigadier JP Dalvi -- the beleagured brigade commander who was given impossible orders to assault well-defended Chinese positions at an altitde ranging from 14,000 feet to 18,000 feet with no air/artillery support, roughly 3 battalions spread over 12 miles, and only 50 rounds of pouch ammunition per man! Thus, did David take on Goliath.

I had bought the book "Maharaja's Jewels" by Katherine Prior and John Adamson and I must say that it was truly a wonderful book. For those who have interest in Jewels, Indian history, Royalty, Photography and I think for any one it will be a great experience to read it.

The Authors have brought out the richness of the land in an excellent presentation. The quality of the book in terms of the content, pictures, presentation, the collection of the jewels shown and the history behind them is very well presented.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and certainly recommend to any one with interest in such a book. it should be in any interested person's collection.

Amazing. I spent outside my budget to get this book and it's worth every cent.

Maharajahs' Jewels provides an oversized, lavish examination of maharaja jewelry, considering the history behind royal jewelry making in India and the conditions under which some of the most famous jewelry pieces were manufactured. The stories of the Indian princes and their jewelry will appeal to any interested in Indian history in general and jewelry-making in particular.

...and get a better understanding to not follow fad diets, but instead adopt a new lifestyle. Practical knowledge everyone needs to get FIT and stay that way. RECOMMEND.

I agree with the other 5-star reviews I've seen. This is this well written, sensible guide without the hype and false promises of the typical "diet book" (and the price is a real bargain as well). I'd recommend it to anyone.

This is by far the best book on dieting I've ever read. Not just a diet but a whole new healthy way of eating. So far I've been able to lose 60 pounds by following the sensible eating guidelines in the book. These guidelines are flexible enough so you don't feel deprived. Anyone who is serious about loosing weight and feeling good at the same time should give this a try.

Doug and Sarat have been very successful in bringing out the true meaning behind these stories of the Indian saints. I think there is something in the book for everyone, but those who are spiritually inclined will especially find many gems of wisdom in its page. The stories and narration cater to the whole spectrum of individuals - from the intellectual to the devotional. Personally, I found the story "A Leap of Faith" most inspiring because it gives me an idea of the exalted mental and spiritual state of a devotee deeply in love with God. Excellent reading.

Great book! This book is an elegant way of explaining the 26 divine qualities of a well-balanced individual. In this book, these qualities are explained through the stories of great people, who demonstrated these qualities in their own lives. Authors did a great job in bringing forth the true interpretation of these qualities. For example, the story "The Weaver, The Fakir, and The Pig", brings out the deeper meaning of "cleanness", not the commonly interpreted meaning that is concerned with external cleanness.
These stories are inspiring and encourage the reader to follow the good principles of life. A must read for adults and kids.

Wisdom's Blossoms is a fascinating return to life of the saints, characters and community life of ancient India, told in 26 short tales, each with a moral at the end, in the highly readable style of Aesop's Fables. I read it through in a single sitting and delightful is the mildest word I would use to endorse it to other Amazon[.com] readers.

This book is beautifully packaged, and Ms. Gupta links Yoga asanas and classical Indian dance, something so obvious, and yet the dance masters fail to do this to any extent in the present-day Indian classical dance training. The Yoga portion of the book consists of basic gentle yoga asanas, good especially for beginners. My problem with the dance section, especially the rasas, is that ALL basic books on Indian classical dance illustrate the nine rasas, so there's nothing new in this information and this book would not help someone delving deeper into the subject. It's a memoir and a journey of the author's first trip to India and how she, as a American, got interested in the East. It is full of hundreds of photos, large and small, of the author and in order to enjoy the whole book, you must have a personal interest in the author, Indian dance and yoga.

In the book's preface, the author recounts this story: "Daya Krishna, one of India's most distinguished and respected living philosophers, in conversation recently reflected with me upon the nature of intercultural communication. He expressed the view that to reach a true "understanding" between two cultures, one had to fall in love. This book, then, is first of all a love story. . .I traveled halfway around the world to become completely immersed in India, submitting myself to its religious and artistic disciplines. But the love story does not end there. This book is an attempt to share some of the important aspects of the highly developed disciplines I encountered, and to offer new theoretical and practical understandings of what Indian culture offers us in the West."

The attempt is a success. Dr. Gupta's book is wonderfully written and replete with instructional and inspirational photographs. Even if you've never been consciously interested in Indian classical dance, Gupta's approach is so welcoming and complete that you'll most likely find yourself wrapped up in the presentation in no time. The book's overall tone is finely balanced between insightful instruction and personal recollection and reflection. Color and black-and-white photographs throughout the book help the reader to follow along with yogic/dance moves, as well as to track the author's immersion and progress through ancient Indian culture; we see her as a student abroad, developing her skills and her "look," and we see her as she is today; an example of East meeting West in a happy, successful, and reverent confluence of beliefs and influences.

Roxanne creates this book by combining her experiences living in India, learning classical dance and yoga. Her style of writing is exquisite and authentic. I grew up in Hyderabad speaking Telugu language. Reading about her experiences from Hyderabad, I felt like I'm back home. I met Dr. Nataraja Rama Krishna, great dance teacher few times. Teachers like him and others expect nothing but the best from their students.

Roxanne incorporates some of the dance movements and hand gestures in the yoga exercises she recommends. It clearly shows, how classical dance and yoga are inter related. Any dance teacher would benefit greatly from reading this book.

When I initially purchased this book, I was skeptical that it would be another rant in a long line of far left-wing "America is the new Nazi empire" publications that have overloaded the academic arena during the past few years. While this writing does not go out of its way to justify the invasion on purely moral grounds or glorify America in its entirety, it does a very good job at presenting the facts in a professional manner. It presents the invasion of Iraq as an important piece in the larger puzzle of American foreign policy, both politically and economically vis-a-vis the rest of the world. There are a few occurrences of anti-Americanism in the book, but not enough to completely turn off the reader. The book also presents a nice background of history and it's scary when the reader realizes how America uses and will use other nations to serve its own purposes. The information flows are a bit choppy sometimes, but the quality of the information itself makes up for any anomalies in the presentation format.

Overall, I recommend this book for those who, like myself, have questions and doubts as to any of the real reasons behind the invasion of Iraq and perhaps looking for a glimpse into the economic and political future of the United States.

So as to not make anyone wonder about my political leanings, I consider myself to be a centrist Democrat/Republican (depending on the issue). I'm glad that Saddam is gone; I do believe that he is arguably a Middle-East version of Hitler and that had he been allowed to, would have acquired some form of weapons of mass destruction. Therefore, I think that the war in Iraq is justified for these reasons given the pathology of Saddam and his sons. However, I do not believe that that the American federal government is being completely forthcoming in its plans for a post-Saddam Iraq or the entire Middle East region for that matter.

After reading 4 other books on the recent history of Iraq, I recommoned this book for anyone who is looking for a complete understanding of the economic, and strategic factors involved in the decision to attack Iraq.

The collaborative effort of the Research Unit For Political Economy, Behind The Invasion Of Iraq is a sharply focused and informatively critical look at America's motives for launching the invasion of a Saddam Houssain and Baath Party dominated Iraq. Taking into account Iraq's history and relationship with the West, within the context of modern-day economic crises and strategic agendas for staging an invasion, Behind The Invasion Of Iraq is commended as being a sober, carefully researched and immediately relevant treatise -- especially now that the national debate has moved on to post-invasion reconstruction issues and a growing possibility of collateral invasion of Syria.

This book has won a number of awards including the best armchair traveler book of the year award. It stands out from the league of similar books and comes straight from the author's heart. Rightly acclaimed as one of the most insightful and revealing books about the country, it emphasizes diverse religious traditions and spirituality of India. This honest book easily impresses the reader with captivating vivid narrative peppered with delightful pictures. Organized by six broad regions, it is not meant to be a tome on India but a catalyst that propels the readers towards discovering it. It evokes nostalgic heartwarming feeling for those who have been to India and generates genuine interest among the would-be tourists. Though no one can claim to have captured the vastness, diversity and contradictions of Indian culture in one book, this fascinating volume comes pretty close. In the latest edition of the book, author has updated the text and pictures and done away with some redundant text. A must buy for anyone traveling to India or just having interest in it- Indians and non-Indians alike (This review has been taken from Recipedelights.com)

Actually, I just found this book reviewed in India by a major news paper with a great recomendation. I just received it myself and have fallen in love. Written by someone who seems to have really taken time to study his subject. Excellent text and photos.

This book must be read by anybody who has an interest in India, whether they are Indians or non-Indians. I recommend that anybody who plans on visiting India also read this book. The typical tourist book gives practical information on what to see and where to stay and what to wear. But it won't give you an insight into the land, its people and its culture. And if you do not get that, you haven't got the most from your trip. This book will prepare you for the discovery of India. The photographs are marvellous, a visual delight.

A very honest trip through kundalini awakening, the author has avoided to tell us precisely what happened exactly before that very day, but you have a very clear understanding of the process.
Carefull attention is required, nothing forced like for Gopi, however his experience show us there will be a lot of awaken people in the future.
Be wise don't overdo it, awakening comes with a change in the brain and spinal apparel, consciousness has to shine within your body,needs a good and stable mind and body . Do read Osho rasjneesh books too, as meditation is learning to die going through the process of dying brings real life within you.

I THINK IT IS MY DESTINY AND GOODFORTUNE,I CAME ACCROSS THIS 'FACINATING' BOOK. IT WAS RECOMENDED BY A WISE FRIEND OF MINE,WITH AN ADWISE TO 'STUDY ' IT.
IT TOOK A WHILE TO GET INTO THE 'GROOVE'...AFTER THAT COULD NOT PUT DOWN THE BOOK..IT WAS A THRILLER!!
I AM 52YEARS OLD NOW,ALL MY LIFE I HAVE READ ALL SORTS OF 'SPIRITUAL BOOKS',LISTENED TO SOME GOOD PEOPLE,FORMED MY OWN OPINION ABOUT 'GOD'..SOUL..PURPOSE OF OUR LIVING..WORSHIPPING..ETC.
SUDDENLY THIS BOOK BY PANDIT GOPI KRISHNA...SHATTERED ALL MY CONCEPTS/VIEW POINTS, ABOUT ''GOD''AND 'SPIRITUALITY.
NOW I BELEIVE THERE IS NO 'GOD' ..THERE IS ONLY'ENERGY'ALL AROUND US..AND THE SAME ENERGY IS IN EVERY ONE OF US..IF IT IS 'AWAKENED'IN YOU...THATS ''NIRWANA''OR THE PURPOSE OF YOUR LIFE...
IF YOU ARE 'BLESSED''YOU WILL READ THIS BOOK..
YOU MAY CONTACT ME IF YOU WANT TO..E.MAIL.. may the 'energy'bless us all.

..suddenly it struck me..
How come that countries with "Gurus" and and a tradition of mental mastery and such are dirt poor, have lots of thieves, child labour and much else. Why isn't it that, at least one time in a tousand years one of these gurus was clever enough, and free from ego to mastermind a regime that could create decent conditions. How come that countries like Norway or Denmark have better conditions and less crime? They were berserks! Think about it?

I read this and started the massage when my baby was about 4 months old. It is a wonderful complement to his bedtime routine and does wonders for relaxing him. I only wish I would have started sooner! The pictures were the most helpful in this beautiful book.

Written by professional obstetrician Frederick Leboyer, Loving Hands: The Traditional Art Of Baby Massage is a remarkable and heartfelt presentation of infant massage techniques that Dr. Leboyer learned from a young East Indian mother in Calcutta. Illustrated with more than seventy black-and-white photographs, Loving Hands showcases techniques for a parent's bonding with a child through the medium of touch. Highly recommended reading, especially for new parents, the text is sparse, lyrical, and presents simple, easy-to-follow instructions in this very fine and highly accessible guide.

As a new parent, i want the best for my little girl. I purchased this book and started practicing the massage on my baby when she was about one month old. She really enjoys it, it is like it reinforces the mother baby bond. It explains very clearly what to do mostly by pictures and it also has some thoughtful poems included in the book. A great choice, i highly recommend it.

The Raj Quartet (comprised of four novels) is in my ultimate top ten of great novels and my favourite work of fiction for the twentieth century. Paul Scott is up there up with Tolstoy and Jane Austen. The Raj Quartet is exquisite to read, every word and every sentence appears to have the perfection that Jane Austen bestowed on her works but on the majestic scale of Tolstoy's War and Peace.

The Raj Quartet is multi-layered, complex, beyond the apparent. Is it about a country? Or is it about two countries? Paul Scott deals with the years of the "great divorce" as it were, but now at the beginning of a new century the continuing implications of the historic British occupation are as fresh as ever, both in India and the UK, one example being the the unforseen post war immigration and lifting of racial barriers between two peoples (I myself am a product of a post war marriage between an Indian father and British mother).

The question of identity is explored. What makes an Indian? (still a relevant question in a subcontinent of such diverse cultures, religions, languages, outlooks, etc). What happens to a group (the Raj British) who are no longer needed in either India or Britain? (I recommend Staying On by Paul Scott which deals with a minor character who does stay on in India.)

Beyond the themes of history, colonialism and imperialism, there is the theme of the universal human experience. Who are we all really? Should we let our nationality and culture define who we are? Or as one character, Sarah Layton, finally have the courage to break free and define our own identity. Sarah at first is apart from "the other", then in one revealing scene (the ride with Ahmed) she subconsciously turns to face "the other" though unsuccessfully and finally in the beautifully written and incredibly sensual scene where she decides to dive into the forbidden (the seduction by Clark, who I see myself as Eros or the Hindu God of Love, Kama) she breaks through into her individuality, her "grace".

An outstanding piece of writing and a masterpiece, the Quartet compresses in four novels the essence of individual lives caught in the matrix of history. What is karma and dharma? The novels examine these as best Scott can in trying to articulate his artistic vision of the tragedy of history and of individual lives. History is impersonal and is from a God's-eye view, our own lives are subjective and given differing perspectives and are all that we have to imperfectly cling to. In that personal vantage point is salvation and hell all in one. Check out Scott's "Staying On" as well which is his farewell to the Indian scene and the characters we've come to know. A sliding farewell into oblivion, just as Scott himself fell into his twilight years.

Paul Scott's brilliant saga of the death of English imperialism resonates deeply for any American who has ever worried that Britain's shrunken global influence foreshadows our own destiny as a nation -- despite our current standing as the world's only "superpower." His indictment of racism is complicated and unsparing. In addition to his marvelous villain, Ronald Merrick, his female characters are so richly drawn, so simultaneously appalling, frustrating, and likable, that they dominate all four books of the Quartet and make it difficult to believe they were written by a man. The very appealing character of Guy Perron, whom the reader first meets in Volume IV, is, I believe, Scott himself -- serving as an academic observer who attempts to translate, and make sense of, the complex, emotional, and tightly interwoven events through which the first three volumes have carried us.

I reread the Quartet frequently and get something new out of it every time. It inspires me to write.