Book Description

As one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy since the 1950's, tourism has proved to be a complicated phenomenon, unlike any other economic producer.Over the last few decades, tourism has exerted increasing pressure on the land and negative social, environmental and economic impacts have surfaced as major issues.Positive guidelines for better planning are in demand by developers and designers who need new understandings of the breadth of tourism's complexity for their own success.Long considered the seminal work on tourism development, Tourism Planning provides a comprehensive, integrated overview of all aspects of tourism and the planning functions that accompany it, emphasizing concepts and principles for better planning.The revised and updated fourth edition contains enhanced discussions of the role of communities immediately surrounding the sites using newer tourism cases as examples.Issues that have increased in importance in recent years are also discussed in depth including transportation glut, resource erosion, sprawl and sustainable development. ... Read more

Book Description

The Iconography of Landscape draws together fourteen scholars from diverse disciplines to explore the status of landscape as a cultural image.By applying the art-historical method of iconography--interpreting levels of meaning in human artifacts--to landscapes on paper or canvas, in literary form or on the ground, its contributors show how landscape is an important mode of human signification, informed by, and itself informing social, cultural and political issues.The range of examples is wide in terms of medium, period and place.It covers poetry and promotional literature, architectural design and urban ceremonial maps and paintings; the historical periods discussed range from sixteenth-century Italy to twentieth-century Canada.The book is introduced by the editors' discussion of the meanings of landscape and of the iconographic method in the context of contemporary theoretical and methodological debate on culture and society. ... Read more

Book Description

Like its predecessor, Biogeography, Second Edition, aims to integrate the specialized subdisciplines that threaten to divide the field. It combines ecological and historical perspectives to show how contemporary environments, earth history, and evolutionary processes have shaped the distributions of species and the patterns of biodiversity. It illustrates general patterns and processes using examples from different groups of plants and animals from diverse habitats and geographic regions.

Biogeography, Second Edition, consists of 19 chapters, organized into five sections. The book is beautifully illustrated with hundreds of figures and maps, and contains a glossary and extensive bibliography. Starting from simple facts and principles, and assuming only a rudimentary knowledge of biology, geography, and earth history, the book seeks to explain the relationships between the patterns of plant and animal distributions and the mechanistic processes that have produced them. Throughout, the emphasis is on the interplay between unifying concepts and the evidence that supports or challenges these ideas. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

An excellent introductory approach to Biogeography
This book written by some of the best authors known in the field comprises a quite extensive overall view of biogeography, its fundaments, beginnings, divisions, schools and relatively new applications and inner relations with other sciences.It contains also a copy of the original zoogeographic regions map created by Wallace. This book resembles the whole biogeography curse taught in the Faculty of Sciences of the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, UNAM. which is quite exceptional and has the best scientists-profesors in Latin America. If you are looking for a "has it all" biogeography book this one is a must have for undergraduates and graduates students interested in comparative biology, systematics and distributions of taxa within time and space. The review has only four stars for strictly brand new additions of up to date biogeographical information are not included in this edition, yet, but for a three year old book it is a minor problem. ... Read more

Book Description

This book provides an all-important overview of the issues involved in GIS data conversion projects, positioning data as the foundation of any GIS. Among the issues readers will explore are: understanding and locating data; allocating personnel, budgets and time; documenting the process; becoming familiar with the target system; selecting conversion and input methods; understanding the ramifications of transfer standards; and safeguarding data quality. Not overly technical, the book does a good job of explaining some of the more abstract concepts related to data conversion that can be difficult to convey and comprehend, such as data source types, synthesis and formats.(Keywords:Introduction to GIS) ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Very good introductory and reference text.
This book is a very well written general introduction to data conversion in GIS. The separate chapters are written by contributors with expertise in the particular aspect of data conversion. It is readable, even by people with little technical knowledge or computer experience. I gave it to a friend of mine and he commented on this readability. There are some technical errors contained within various chapters, but nothing that would affect the actual data conversion process. I have recommended this text for our GIS course. The text does not promote the virtues of any particular vendor's GIS software and adheres to teaching basic principles of GIS data conversion. There are particularly well-written chapters on project management and quality control. The book price is well within the budget of most students. Some lab exercises would be a fine addition to this product. ... Read more

Book Description

A beautifully written exploration of identity and memory in a journey through Ireland. Strangely positioned between Europe and the postcolonial world, Ireland occupies a fluid and contradictory space, not least in the memory or imagination of its many emigrants. In this sensitive exploration of the culture of others, Rebecca Solnit returns to Ireland, armed with a newly acquired Irish passport -- courtesy of otherwise forgotten maternal ancestors. Her journey is not to find a stable identity in ancestral roots but to confront notions of stability, identity, ethnicity and nationalism in one of their great mythic sources. A Book of Migrations is a postcolonial revision of conventional travel literature. In her passage through Ireland, Rebecca Solnit portrays in microcosm a history made of great human tides of invasion, colonization, emigration, nomadism and tourism. Travel itself produces its own versions of memory and identity, and travel's transformation into the information age's pre-eminent industry -- tourism -- comes under close scrutiny. It is no accident that her journey culminates in an encounter with the Travellers, the indigenous nomads of contemporary Ireland. Enriched by cross-cultural comparisons with the history of the American West, A Book of Migrations carves a new route through Ireland's history, literature and landscape. Rich with historical reflections -- including fine essays on Roger Casement and Jonathan Swift, the Dublin Natural History Museum and the disappearance of Ireland's forests -- the book combines the virtues of the finest travel writing with a critical acuity. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Enjoyable and thought-provoking
I found this book to be an excellent read:not only is Ms. Solnit a clear-eyed and perceptive observer, but she's also a good researcher into the historical and personal dimensions of the places she visits, and she generally presents this material very well (although a few times I felt that the background information got between her and what she was seeing).Also, as a native Californian who grew up in the same rural-turning-into-suburban landscape as she did, I found her comments and comparisons very apt;I'm not sure that someone from a different background would find them as relevant, but the material is fascinating and the anecdotes well written.However, I was rather annoyed by the vehemence of her dislike for "New Age types" -- granted, some people who fall under that rubric are easy to scoff at,but in that case I wondered why such a gifted and perceptive writer was wasting her time on cheap shots.Maybe it's that she feels threatened by anyone who doesn't agree with her "political activism is the ONLY way to change the world" viewpoint, in which case I think she needs to examine her own biases!Otherwise, the book is a beautifully written description of the West of Ireland (as a recent visitor to many of the same places, I greatly enjoyed her perspective) as well as a meditation on the nature of travel itself, and I feel it's well worth reading.

This is a wonderful book
This is one of the best books I have ever read.For anyone who has ever been to Ireland or for that matter travelled anywhere at all this should be a marvelous book to read.I love the way she thinks and writes.If I wereas well educated and as articulate as Rebecca Solnit, I would write as shedoes.In the book one minute I'm in Ireland and then back here in the BayArea on Mount Burdell.I love the way one subject brings her to anotherand then on from there. She reminds one that we can be in many differentplaces at once...not only the place where we actually are physically at themoment...but in all the places our minds, memories, hearts and souls havebeen (and have not actually been) and remember.I am going walking in theWest of Ireland in two weeks and this is a book I shall carry with me andread for the third time while I'm there.Thank you Ms. Solnit for the giftof your intellect and your spirit.

Interesting and visually rich but a bit academic
Rebecca Solnit has a unique ability to bring the nuances of place to the reader's imagination. This account of Solnit's solitary walk across the west of Ireland is at times haunting, beautiful,and wistful, yet I felt ithad a tendency to get a bit bogged down in the language of academia anddeconstruction. Her interior journeys are as compelling as her geographicalones, however, and anyone who is interested in the landscape of this veryunique part of the world will enjoy her tales of the Irish west's land andpeople. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Everything you wanted to know about NJ...
Although "geography" is in the title of this book, it covers much, much more. The author covers almost every aspect of New Jersey, from its history through its geography, ecology, demographics, transportation systems and economy. Anybody doing research on the Garden State will find this book invaluable; the merely curious will find it fascinating as well.

The book contains a wealth of Jersey trivia. For instance, the township of Cherry Hill (across the river from Philadelphia) is named for the Cherry Hill Mall! Before the mall was built, the township was known as Delaware Township, but changed its name to capitalize on the success of the shopping center.Also, in the 1960s, the South Jersey town of Pine Hill sported a ski resort (anyone familiar with South Jersey will know how absurd that is).

My only caveat has nothing to do with the book itself, but with the publication date. Having been published in 1998, it obviously doesn't refelct the most recent (2000) census data. Hopefully an updated edition will be forthcoming.

One would hope that a book like this exists for every state in the Union. ... Read more

Book Description

In 1857, Captain William Lewis Herndon sacrificed his life trying to save 600 passengers and crew when his ship foundered in a hurricane off the Carolina coast. Memorialized in Gary Kinder's best-selling book Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea, Herndon, with this final courageous act, epitomized a lifetime of heroism. Seven years earlier, the secretary of the Navy had appointed Herndon to lead the first American expedition into the Amazon Valley. Herndon departed Lima, Peru, on May 20, 1851, and arrived at Para, Brazil, nearly a year later, traveling 4,000 miles by foot, mule, canoe, and small boat. He cataloged the scientific and commercial observations requested by Congress, but he filed his report as a narrative, creating an intimate portrait of an exotic land before the outside world rushed in. Herndon's report so far surpassed his superiors' expectations that instead of printing the obligatory few hundred copies for Congress, the secretary of the Navy ordered 10,000 copies in the first print run; three months later, he ordered 20,000 more. Herndon described his adventures with such insight, such compassion and wit, and such literary grace that he came to symbolize the new spirit of exploration and discovery sweeping mid-nineteenth-century America. For the next hundred years, Herndon's report languished out of print before being revived briefly in 1951. Now, for the first time in nearly fifty years, Gary Kinder and Grove Press bring to readers one of the greatest chronicles of travel and exploration ever written. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Quite a Unique Book
I picked up this book after reading Kinder's "Ship of Gold". This book was writen a few years before when captain William Lewis Herndon, who went down with the Central America in Kinder's book, was sent on a journey across the continent of South America via the Amazon river by the US government. He extensively records all his findings and observations, from elevation and river depth numbers, to the exotic wildlife of the river basin. Gary Kinder has done a great job editing down the origional manuscript, and has made a 150 year old book a very readible one today. That's quite an accomplishment, and it helps that Herdon was also a very good writer! What I found most interesting were Herndons personal ideas and oppinions he recorded. 150 years has drastically changed the way we think, and the gap in time is very evident. This book was writen before the abolition of slavery and the events of the 20th century. Herdon states the potential he sees at every turn on his journey to make profitable trades for the natural resources of the the land, and considers it a shame that such resources should go squandered or unnoticed by indians when they could fetch a huge sum in other parts of the world. Of course, we now cherish the rainforests of brazil as a vanishing wilderness on earth. I feel the book is almost more important as a study of 19th century thought than a study of the amazon. I'd like to se a updated edition with footnotes. There were many times when I'd read one of Herndon's observations and wonder how modern science and understanding would explain what he saw and experienced. Read this book expecting to learn more about Herndon than the Amazon.

An Interesting Read
If you read and loved Gary Kinder's "Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea" then you will find "Amazon" to be quite interesting. The book was actually writen over 150 years ago by Herndon, the famed captain of the Central America, the subject of "Ship of Gold" which sank in a hurricane a few years after Herndon crossed South america along the Amazon from Puru to the Atlantic ocean. He was sent on the journey by the US government to extensively record his findings on the continent. Kinder does a wonderful job in both his introduction and editing of the book. It is quite a feat to make a 150 year old book readible. (Kinder has removed irrelivant information recorded extensively by Herndon on the expedition.) What I found most interesting are his personal ideas and visions for the land, and the gap in time that brings such a unique style to his writing. For Example, being that the book was writen before the civil war and the abolition of slavery, Herndon often is critical of savage indian natives. He also has a vision for colonization and considers it a shame that the vast plant, animal and mineral resourses of the amazon are not taped by the US government or any government in trade routes. Of course now, in a world threatened by polution and over populated cities we see the amazon as one of the last areas of untamed wilderness on the earth. I found his comments fascinating and was intrigued at how different the world is today. The one thing I absent from book are footnotes- There were many times when Herdon would describe something and, knowing the changes in scientific discovery over 150 years, I would wonder what he really observed and why. I finished the book with a lot of questions and few answers, but I did have an inderstanding of American thought and vision from the 1850's, and I can't say I've ever read another book that shows that so well.

Lewis & Clark go down the Amazon...
... but told in a much more stylish and readable manner. I bought this book on the strength of reading about Capt. Herndon's sacrifice in Gary Kinder's "Ship of Gold...". He seemed to epitomise the old-style captain, caring about his passengers, crew and above all his ship, and I was interested to read more about the man.

I was not disappointed; what could have been a dusty tome full of only facts and figures, emerges as a rivetting account of the trials endured during the trip, and vivid descriptions of a land that was as yet virtually unknown to the 'civilised' world, told as a very readable narrative. This easy style is what captured the hearts and minds of the Anmerican (and European) public in a book which went into several reprints of 10,000s (as opposed to the usual Congress print run of 100+!).

It also captured the imagination of a certain Samuel Clemens, who, after reading the book, immediately took steamer from St.Louis to New Orleans to get a boat to the Amazon. Imagine his disappointment when he found no passage ... sitting, bemoaning his ill luck, he hears the cries of the steamers "Mark twain!" - the rest is history.

I have one reservation (hence only ****); during his editing & research for the book, Mr.Kinder deletes a lot of sections that I personally would have found very interesting, such as crops grown, goods & minerals available and costs of trade items. If these had been included as an appendix, I think it would have added to the charm of the book.

Nevertheless, one of the best pieces of historical travel writing I have ever read.

An incredible journey
Captain William Lewis Herndon gives a very well written narrative of what it was like to explore South America in 1851-1852. He took the first United States' expedition from the west side of the Peruvian Andes,then over and through the Brazilian Amazon to the Atlantic Ocean. His desriptions of the local people and their cultures, along with how they survived, their agricultural methods and practices are fascinating. He also includes geological, botanical and zoological observations all along the way. He describes how difficult it was to cross the Andes at elevations above 17,000 feet, the mining industries in the mountains, what kinds of plants grow here and there, the animals they encounter. A few unbelievable (but verifiable?) accounts were of the tailed people who lived up the Jurua tributary, the three and a half foot people, blue mud, etc. These were all enjoyable to read. The only drawback was the overall purpose of the expedition. It was a way to exploit the Andes Mountains and Amazon of their natural resources, from the gold, silver, etc in the mountains to harvesting the forests for commercial use. Just like Gary Kinder said in his foreword to the book, if Herndon was alive today, he may have a different opinion. A very good read though if you enjoy exploration. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (1)

A Collector's Delight
I can recommmend this book in three ways-as a coffee table book, as a map collector's reference book, and as a history book. As a book out on your living room table, visitors will be sure to pick it up and review it. As a collector's reference it is wonderful. A good overview of various maps, some one of a kind, with a great writeup on each map and mapmaker. It may become a "reference" book, whereby the maps shown are more desirable to collectors simply because they are listed in "Cohen". Finaly, it is a great history book dealing with the exploration of America westward. Highly recommend to anyone interested in maps and mapping, or in American history. ... Read more

Book Description

Discusses the underlying theory of GPS and GIS without becoming overly technical.
* Includes case studies presenting international experience and real-world applications.
* Provides discussions of instrumentation and guidelines for selecting the right device for the job. ... Read more

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Reviews (1)

Questions from Professor
Dear Colleague:

I am looking for an appropriate textbook of animal ethology for Veterinary student in Korea. I am not sure the properties of this book. Is this recommendable to text of 1 credit? I appreciate your comments. With regards,

Taekyun Shin, VMD, Associate Professor(anatomy and ethology) of Vet Medicine, Cheju national University, Korea ... Read more

Book Description

This book looks at the way maps are now used on the internet instead of the traditional paper maps that most of us are used to.A cutting edge book including case studies, examples, and its own website. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Zen and the Art of Web Cartography ...
Masterpiece! The bible of Internet Cartography. A must have for every Web GIS (Geographic Information Systems) lover and developer! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Good introduction to urban planning theory
The book is a very good syntesis to urban planning theory (specially in ths U.K.). I recomend it for a textbook. ... Read more

Book Description

In this book environmentalist and lawyer William Shutkin describes a new kind of environmental and social activism spreading across the nation, one that joins the pursuit of environmental quality with that of civic health and sustainable local economies. In the face of challenges posed by often corrosive market forces and widespread social disaffection, this civic environmentalism is creating nothing less than a new public discourse and dynamic social vision grounded in environmental action.

Shutkin points the way to vibrant, sustainable communities through four inspiring examples of civic environmentalism in action: the redevelopment of contaminated urban land for agriculture in inner-city Boston, mass-transit-based development and waterfront restoration in Oakland, protection of open space and conservation-based development in rural Colorado, and smart-growth and sustainability strategies in suburban New Jersey. The book's underlying message is that the nation's environmental health is a critical factor in its success as a vital democracy. Social health, democratic community, and environmentalism, Shutkin shows, are one. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

relief from the gloom-and-doom
Not that Shutkin fails to understand how serious our environmental problems are. He knows. This is no Polyanna-style tale a la Greg Easterbrook, telling lies about how trivial environmental degradation is in order to sell books. Shutkin ralizes that our problems are serious, even life-threatening. But he thinks that we can begin to resolve them, if only we can find the will to begin, rather in the style of Diana Muir in her new book Bullough's Pond. Some of his solutions may not be workable, but surely Shutkin is correct to urge us to try.

A lyrical and compelling work -- though somewhat Utopian
Bill Shutkin's sensitivity to the environment and the human dimension of ecological concerns shines through brilliantly in this book. The case studies which are at the core of his narrative and his exposition of environmental problems are well-researched, and well-experienced. As an activist/lawyer/entrepreneur/academic, Shutkin provides an unusual blend of insights which are indeed rare in environmental literature.

Optimism permeates this book which is certainly refreshing to many readers who are probably tired of the gloom and doom that resonates from many green texts. The foreword by David Brower is perhaps a prelude to this optimism and to the change in perception and outlook concerning environmental policy among activists.

Nevertheless, the primacy of this change in contemporary times is perhaps overstated by Shutkin. I was somewhat disappointed with the Amero-centric nature of the text, particularly when it comes to the poetic celebration of so global an issue as environmentalism. By this I do not mean the case selection - which is quite appropriate considering Shutkin's own expertise in working with certain communities. Rather, I am more concerned with the way in which the "reforms" within civic society are heralded as a hallmark of American democracy. Indeed, the work of the Austrian / British economist and thinker E.F. Schumacher (who died in the seventies) are not even mentioned. Much of the community oriented "small is beautiful" approach which is at the core of Shutkin's argument can be found there (and elsewhere), and has been in motion for decades.

I think that the book should have perhaps been less ambitious in its title and argument by focusing on a certain class of environmental concerns where a sense of place and association with the land can be imbibed. It is important for all of us to consider that there are also many environmental concerns, where such associations are impossible to foster - many global environmental issues such as climate change, ozone depletion or other scientifically dependent areas of environmental concerns which do indeed require a certain intellectual "elite" and an elaborate decision-making apparatus. Let us also not forget that even at the community level and the urban planning level, many of the great success stories of environmental reform have worked with strong top-down approaches - Singapore being a living example. Also, what is one to do when civic environmentalism does not emerge even within a democratic process? The book should have perhaps addressed such anomalies to the argument.

Despite these minor shortcomings, this book is a momentous achievement which will undoubtedly spur much reflection and debate.

The Land that Will Be (if we become more civically active)
This is one of the most inspiring books I have read in years. When I choose to read a non-fiction book, which is rather infrequently, this is exactly the kind of book I hope for -- engaging from the first page on, well-researched, analytical, passionate and ultimately deeply meaningful. The environmental movement has had a rather narrow audience historically, but this book -- because of its basic premise that the environment is inextricably linked to all facets of our lives and because of the author's embracing style -- could serve to open up the field a great deal more. As I was reading this book, I felt a deep sense that there really is no other way to approach the significant environmental problems facing us than the way Shutkin promotes (through grass-roots citizen coalitions). I found this realization not to be burdensome but to be profoundly uplifting. Shutkin's case studies of successful civic environmentalism prove that democracy is alive and well in certain communities in our country and that, indeed, the grass will always be greener in America if more of us exercise our personal power to keep it that way. ... Read more

Book Description

Natural hazards afflict all corners of the Earth; often unexpected, seemingly unavoidable and frequently catastrophic in their impact. This revised edition is a comprehensive, inter-disciplinary treatment of the full range of natural hazards. Accessible, readable and well supported by over 180 maps, diagrams and photographs, it is a standard text for students and an invaluable guide for professionals in the field. Clearly and concisely, the author describes and explains how hazards occur, examines prediction methods, considers recent and historical hazard events and explores the social impact of such disasters. This revised edition makes good use of the wealth of recent research into climate change and its effects. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Complete treatise on climatic and geological hazards
With this book Dr. Bryant (from Wollongong University, Aus) gives a complete overview on natural hazards, as well as its social impacts. Apart from how natural hazards occur, the author also presents (controversial) methods how to predict hazards from occurring again (on short and long term). Bryant starts his book with his successful forecasts of the Australian summer 88/89. He was then able to predict the start of heavy precipitation in Australia NSW starting on Nov 15, 1988 and ending on June 30, 1989.He claims that there is sound scientific evidence that cosmic / planetary links exist with the occurrence of earthquakes and floods. The 11-year sunspot cycle and the 18.6-year lunar cycle (caused by the moon's orbit fluctuation) are used to show a correlation with the ENSO index, occurrences of floods and droughts in North America, Northern China, Australia, Patagonia, amongst others. Very surprising he also shows that in some parts of the world (such as the Mediterranean) the sunspot frequency and the seismic activity are correlated, via fluctuations in the Earth's rotation (in the order of milliseconds). However, if earthquake occurrence is dominated by some force external to the Earth (as mentioned by the author), then one would expect clustering to be taking place at the same time worldwide, which is not supported by the data.

The book contains a lot of case studies with photographs, tables and figures of natural disasters. There is an abundance of references, which makes this book a very valuable work. The Dutch case study of coastal floods in 1953 is presented with a small mistake though. Not the dams fronting the old Zuiderzee were breached, but the dikes of the southern province of Zeeland were overtopped and slided because of extreme wind set up.
... Read more

Book Description

This all-new edition of the popular ArcView GIS/Avenue Programmers Reference has been fully updated based on ArcView GIS Version 3.1. Included is information on more than 200 Avenue classes, plus 101 ready-to-use Avenue scriptsall organized for optimum accessibility. The class hierarchy reference provides a summary of classes, class requests, instance requests, and enumerations. The Avenue scripts enable readers to accomplish a variety of common customization tasks, including manipulation of views, tables, FThemes, IThemes, VTabs, and FTabs; script management; graphical user interface management; and project production documentation.(Keywords:GIS Applications) ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Essential Developer's Assistant
While ESRI may make great products, and ArcView is one of them, their ability to write clear and concise product literature could be improved. This is where Razavi and friends come in. If you are serious about developing ArcView based GIS applications, don't even bother starting without having this book on hand. Learn your craft with Razavi's Developer's Guide first, and then grab the Programmer's Reference. The clouded world of Avenue programming will become a lot clearer ... Read more

Amazon.com

Uncertainty stalks Octavio Paz. In Light of India is Paz's return to issues addressed in his poems of India that were inspired by his residence there three decades earlier. The paradoxes of a troubled nation are persistent, and Paz revisits the unfathomable facets of India with an eye on his Mexican homeland. Beneath the sensuous veneer of modern India lies a complex lattice of religious tendrils that reach into and influence Indian history, society, literature, and art. Paz follows these tendrils as well as anyone can, piecing together a nation of beauty, profundity, and enigma. Profundity aside, if Paz were writing about dust particles, he'd be worth reading. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

In Light of India: A Reverent, Thoughtful "Adios"
Paz's technical, highly informative swan song, as he wound down his amabassadorial stint, is at once distant, respectful...and oddly wistful. One can picture him, gazing contemplatively out of the window, as his train wisks him through the Indian countryside, his elbow on the sill, head in hand...A rather grand, respecful Goodbye, with just a hint of saddness and yearning...which is what this book represents. Paz's envious, strangely misplaced attempts to compare his native Mexico to the country-of-his-dreams (India) seem a bit desperate and even clumsy at times. One could sense Paz's wish: "If only my Mexico were as majestic, grand and enigmatic..." Or atleast had as many software startups per capita. Perhap's Paz will convert to Hinduism by his 85th birthday. An informative, (too) reverent, but decent piece of work...Almost has the mood and (deliberate) distance of Langston Hughes' "Big Sea", but far more exacting, patient and academic in its use of the english language and (again) far more technical...A lot of starch in this one. A worthy edition to one's own library - or to Paz's works, in general. SP

Engaging yet Uncertain
Kudos to Paz for discoursing on India's nationhood, religion and caste. Uncertainty is the underlying theme in this book. Unlike Mexico, India proves to be a bigger (and alien) challenge to Paz's analytical and intellectual ability and at the start of the book the reader wonders - will this be the Indian Labyrinth of Solitude?

Paz's love for India and his desire to find answers to (paradoxical?)questions engages him in a duel that is serendipitous for him and cahallenging yet enjoyable to the reader. His bafflement is typical in a land where 'one man's ceiling is another man's floor'. You can contest every assertion he makes - but wait! A few paragraphs later he himself is left questioning his earlier assertions. What starts out as an exercise in 'jnana yoga' (comprehension through knowledge) in the end turns out to be a discourse without conclusions. But as Paz mulls and ponders, his vexations and observances transform itself into a wonderful literary offering of bhakti- an expression of love and admiration for India and its richness and complexity - an offering of devotion that supersedes comprehension.

In search of India -- through the lens of a Mexican poet
This book is an odd medley of genres and has a distinct "entre deux mondes" quality. It briefly starts as a travelogue, as Octavio Paz, describes his sea journey during the 1950s from his diplomatic posting at the Mexican Embassy in Paris to his first assignment in India where he would later return, in the 1960s, as Mexican ambassador. In many ways, I enjoyed these thirty odd first pages, replete with images from the crossing of the Suez Canal to the docks of Bombay and over rail tracks to Delhi, much more than the rest of the book.

The bulk of the book is an impressionistic, enigmatic, and often confusing essay on Indian society, religion, castes, languages,and cosmology. Many of these difficult topics are treated too superficially for this book to be a serious historical or sociological analysis of India. While not the central thrust of this book, comparisons between Indian and Mexican history become inevitable as, for example, when Paz considers different outcomes from what he sees as a common experience in Mexico and India of an indigenous polytheistic culture colliding with an invading monotheistic faith. Or when he analyzes the impact of what he sees as two secular institutions supposedly brought to India and Mexico by colonizing forces - the civil service and army. It is rare for two important, but spatially and historically distant civilizations, to be analyzed next to each other in such a personal way. The reader will not escape a sense of forced comparisons by the author of very different historical and social settings.

But the author does not claim rigor in his analysis of India, acknowledging that "this is not a systematic study, but a more or less ordered gathering of the reflections, impressions, and objections that India provoked in me." For the reader who can view these impressions of India from a Mexican diplomat and Nobel laureate in literature on a less obvious level, this self-conscious disavowal of profound insight into India makes the book intriguing. The author may shed less light on India than he does on his native Mexico,or Latin America, more generally. Perhaps, this is his real intention.

The final pages return to the biographical style at the beginning of the book, giving glimpses into how Octavio Paz historically situates demands for political reforms which were emerging in Mexico in the late 1960s, from his vantage point in India. Ultimately, these political convulsions in Mexico, notably the student riots, culminate in his resignation as a representative of the Mexican Government in India. "I decided I could no longer represent a government that was operating in a manner so clearly opposite to my way of thinking."

Readers of his classic on Mexican society "The Labyrinth of Solitude" will sense echoes in "Light of India" which Octavio Paz concludes with a short and tender poetic swan song to his diplomatic assignment in India, invoking the Hindu deities Shiva and Parvati.

A poetic Journey
Octavio Paz has recorded his experience in India in a great way. I simply call it poetic. Because of the great distance between Mexcio and India, there has been very little interaction between these countries. The linguistic difference has not helped either. Therfore a book by Paz on India from his eyes as a Mexcican, is welcomme addition to the literature. It is definitley a book to have and cherish.

A book that bridges continents
"In Light of India" is a book-length, multi-part essay in which Mexican poet Octavio Paz discusses the complex political, religious, and artistic worlds of India. Paz, who had served as his nation's ambassador to India, writes with insight and obvious affection for his subject.

Paz is a masterful prose writer. His style is smooth and clear, and full of sage-like statements. Consider this observation: "Dialogue between a poet and a saint is difficult because a poet, before speaking, must hear others--that is to say, the language, which belongs to everyone and to no one. A saint speaks with God or with himself, two forms of silence" (p. 118).

Paz covers many topics: India's ancient history, the conflict between Hindus and Muslims, the caste system, classical Sanskrit poetry, and more. But, as he notes, the book is not meant to be an exhaustive scholarly treatise. Rather, it is a very personal view of India: "this book. . . is the child not of knowledge but of love" (33). And as such, the book is rich in interesting anecdotes and fascinating insights, from Paz' account of his meeting with the guru Mother Ananda Mai to his reflection on the influence of Rabindranath Tagore upon Pablo Neruda.

"In Light of India" is a marvelous companion volume to Salman Rushdie's "The Jaguar Smile": in that volume of essays, a writer from the Indian subcontinent reflects upon a Latin American country (the reverse of Paz' project). But on its own, Paz' book is a wonderful volume both for fans of Latin American literature and for those interested in India. ... Read more