The life and work of Henry (Heinrich Robert) Zimmer (1890-1943) is presented with care and clarity in this little volume. Zimmer's role as the Humanist of the twentieth century is here recognized as one of tremendous importance in the spiritual development of global civilization. This book demonstrates how broad-ranging was his capacity to both understand and reach out to others, mostly through his own example of 'amor fati' --love of his own fate. It is an invaluable introduction to a most influential, but 'unsung', scholar of our times.

This book is dated, it was written in the mid 80s and some things have changed. However, Andrew Powell's writing is so good that one finds it as captivating as a novel. Though at times he seemed to skim the surface a bit more than I'd like, the book was consistent in it's approach from start to finish, and the turns of phrase and colorful adjectives employed by Mr. Powell often made me laugh with rememberances of my own visits to the locations he reported from, and my own experiences with Tibetan people. Overall I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to truly understand the situation in Tibet. Even though the information is somewhat dated, it perfectly captures the thoughts and opinions at the time it was written and provides a very sound overview including history of the Tibetan struggle and dispersion of Tibetans in India.

As a teller of tales, Mrs. Dhar shines forth in the same light as possibly W. Somerset Maugham. As a racounteur, her skills are tremendous - the words are like a conversational monologue. The characters are drawn in excellent verbal chiarascuro, in immaculate English, and the humour although quite native, is delighting to all races, I am sure. Her encounters with people have been drawn with remarkable accuracy and the characters come to life with her verbal quill. Kudos on all counts to a great writer and singer, as I remember her myself.

This is such a great little book!! It is so inspirational that I find myself referring to it time and time again.

I couldn't always get the concepts that I read about in other books but this book is written in a story format which not only makes it interesting, it's so easy to understand!

We really are powerful and this book shows that with the right frame of mind you can persuade anyone to do what you want and you can achieve anything you want.

I highly recommend this book!

Janet Rizvi described the book as follows: A "monumental work of co-operative scholarship by a team of 17 scholars from a dozen different disciplines. Although largely focussed on Zanskar, (...) where most of the fieldwork was done, most of it in the early 1980s before the road over the Pensi-la had brought many changes, the findings resonate in almost every department of Ladakh studies." Detailed descriptions of most parts of Ladakhi/Zanskari life are given from the viewpoints of social anthropology, history, ecology, economy, religion, spirituality, sociology, geology, medicine, etc. Some chapters are quite dry, while others, like James Crowden's account of his winter journey along the Zanskar river, or James Crook's chapter on Ladakhi yogins, are enjoyable to read, in addition to being informative. It's a very thick, well researched and well written book, and a must for any student/ scholar working on Ladakh or Zanskar.

The English language hasn't invented words sufficient to describe the photographs in this magnificent book. Shirakawa's photographs are so mind-blowing that they almost reach out and grab you and propel you up to the Roof of the World. There are full page and double-page photos galore, and some foldout plates that will literally take your breath away. Shirakawa took his photographs at all hours of the day and night; we see the Himalayas in all their majesty in the muted shades of dawn, glowing crimson and purple at sunset, sharply etched at high noon, snow and ice crystals glittering like an overturned jewel box, and lushly green valleys in the foothills. The book is divided into four sections representing the Nepal, Punjab and Sikkim Himalayas, and the Hindu Kush range in India. The text is absorbing and relates the geographical evolution of the Himalayas, as well as giving us a brief look at the history and culture of the people who live in their shadow. But the text is a pale shadow to the incredible, magnificent pictures. Looking at these awesome photographs, one can almost believe in the existence of Shangri-La.

This book has the most intense and beautiful pictures of rugged mountains that I've ever seen.

This book deals with Goddesses not normally discussed in other Hindu related or Goddess related subjects. The information on the Mahavidyas is well researched and correct. the only thing about David Kinsley is that for the most part according to him Kali is wild and destructive. But he does give very good information about her. Many who are into goddess religion and spirituality have no clue about the Mahavidyas. So if you are interested in the Hindu Goddesses you will be pleased with your purchase of this wonderful book. Also he includes some real nice illustrations of the Gooddesses. The Mahavidyas are independent Goddesses, if they are with a male God, the male divinity is eighter in a submissive or in a humiliating position. But usually the Mahavidyas are seen without the male deities. I have seen Kali without Shiva. I have this book and I love it.

Etienne Lamotte's 'History of Indian Buddhism' has all the information on Buddhism from its origins to the Shaka-era in pp. 800+. It contains extended information on texts, iconography, archaeology, politics, social background, the Greek presence in India, comparisons of different text versions. Although the book is hard to obtain it's a must-have for every buddhologist, needing a book that covers a wide area of sources in such detail. The book is a translation from the French (Lamotte worked for the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium) and it was first published in 1958 and translated in 1988. Now, this work might be outdated on some topics, considering the advance Buddhist Studies have made, which is why the bibliography is updated, but you won't find so much information in one single volume.

Compiled and edited by Claude Markovits (Director of Research at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, France), A History Of Modern India 1480-1950 is an impressively scholarly and immensely detailed chronological text of the rich and diverse history of India from the Moghuls to the Raj. Discussing such diverse issues of economics, social dynamics, politics, war, societal fragmentation periods, strife between religious communities, and a great deal more, A History of Modern India 1480-1950 is a welcome and strongly recommended contribution to World History collections in general, and India History reference shelves in particular.