Books

In the reviews that follow, publishers are only listed for books published outside the UK and US. Most titles – including those that are out of print (o/p) – are a lot easier to come by in Nepal, and some will only be available there. Books marked with the ★ symbol are particularly recommended.

TRAVELOGUE

Barbara Crossette So Close to Heaven. A survey of the “vanishing Buddhist kingdoms of the Himalayas”, including a chapter focusing on Nepal’s Tibetans, Bhotiyas and Newars. ★Harka Gurung Vignettes of Nepal (Sajha Prakashan, Nepal). This vivid travelogue, illuminated by a native’s insights, is one of the best books written by a Nepali in English about his country. ★Toni Hagen and Deepak Thapa Nepal: The Kingdom of the Himalaya. No person alive has seen as much of Nepal as Hagen, who literally surveyed the entire country in the 1950s. His groundbreaking book was first published in 1961, and revised in 1999. ★Peter Matthiessen The Snow Leopard. Matthiessen joins biologist George Schaller in a pilgrimage to Dolpo to track one of the world’s most elusive cats, and comes up with characteristically Zen insights and magnificent writing on landscape. Dervla Murphy The Waiting Land (o/p). A personal account of working with Pokhara’s Tibetan refugees in 1965, written in the author’s usual entertaining and politically on-the-ball style. ★Charlie Pye-Smith Travels in Nepal (o/p). A curious and surprisingly successful cross between a travelogue and a progress report on aid projects. Mixes impressionistic writing with hard facts. Barbara J. Scot The Violet Shyness of Their Eyes: Notes from Nepal. An American woman crash-lands in the Nepali hills; the writing strikes a nice balance between observation and introspection. Eric Valli and Diane Summers Caravans of the Himalaya (o/p). A journey along the old Nepal–Tibet trade route, packaged for maximum armchair impact. The authors’ Hunting for Honey (o/p) also made a splash.

CULTURE AND ANTHROPOLOGY

John Burbank Culture Shock! Nepal (o/p). Sensitivity training for tourists, with valuable insights into social mores, religion, caste and cross-cultural relations. Broughton Coburn Nepali Aama: Life Lessons of a Himalayan Woman (Adarsh Enterprises). Delightful study of an old Gurung woman in a village south of Pokhara. Told in her own words, and includes photos. Monica Connell Against a Peacock Sky (o/p). Beautiful, impressionistic rendering of life among the matawaali (alcohol-drinking) Chhetris of Jumla District, capturing the subtleties of village life in Nepal. ★Hugh R. Downs Rhythms of a Himalayan Village (o/p). An extraordinarily sensitive synthesis of black-and-white photos, text and quotes, describing rituals and religion in a Solu village. William P. Forbes The Glory of Nepal: A Mythological Guidebook to the Kathmandu Valley (Vedic Books, India). A lively retelling of myths from the Nepal Mahatmya and other medieval texts, linking them to modern-day locations. Jim Goodman Guide to Enjoying Nepalese Festivals (o/p). All the arcane whys and wherefores of the Kathmandu Valley’s festivals: authoritative, though not very user-friendly. Eva Kipp Bending Bamboo, Changing Winds: Nepali Women Tell Their Life Stories (Pilgrims, Nepal). Powerful

oral histories and photographs of women from all over Nepal, revealing not only the country’s amazing cultural diversity but also the universal trials of being a Nepali woman.

Robert I. Levy and Kedar Raj Rajopadhyaya

Mesocosm: Hinduism and the Organization of a Traditional Newar City in Nepal. A heavy anthropological study of Bhaktapur, but its thesis – that the city’s inhabitants collectively operate a sort of well-oiled cultural and spiritual machine – is fascinating. Kathryn S. March If Each Comes Halfway: Meeting Tamang Women in Nepal. Compelling oral history collected from highland, rural Tamang women, with accompanying photographs. Rashmila Shakya and Scott Berry From Goddess to Mortal (Vajra, Nepal). Gripping window into the life of a ipi8hfBu+Fu1Tqp6g5eaALs= Kumari, as told by the ex-goddess herself. ★Mary Slusser Nepal Mandala: A Cultural Study of the Kathmandu Valley (o/p). A gorgeous but exorbitant twovolume set, this is the definitive study of Newar culture and religion. David L. Snellgrove Himalayan Pilgrimage (o/p). A classic travelogue/anthropological account of a trip through northwestern Nepal in the 1950s.

HISTORY AND POLITICS

Dor Bahadur Bista Fatalism and Development (o/p). Controversial analysis of the cultural factors that stand in the way of Nepal’s development, by the country’s bestknown anthropologist. Jonathan Gregson Blood Against the Snows. Occasionally lurid account of the royal massacre, prefaced by rather dustier diggings into the history of Nepal’s monarchy. Michael Hutt Himalayan People’s War: Nepal’s Maoist Rebellion. Has dated fast since publication in 2004, but remains one of the most detailed academic analyses of the insurrection’s origins and early years. Percival Landon Nepal (o/p). The most comprehensive study of the country when it was written (1928), and still a classic – but having been commissioned by the Maharaja, it has a distinct political bias. John Parker The Gurkhas. One of many books lionizing Nepal’s famous Gurkha soldiers. Michel Peissel Tiger for Breakfast (Time Books

RELIGION

★Kevin Bubriski and Keith Dowman Power Places of Kathmandu. A collaboration by two eminent authorities on Hindu and Buddhist holy sites. Rich colour photographs are accompanied by well-researched text. ★Claudia Müller-Ebeling, Christian Rätsch and Surendra Shahi Shamanism and Tantra in the Himalayas. Impressive on-the-ground research and superb photographs make this a magnificent production – though marred somewhat by its credulous stance. ★Georg Feuerstein Tantra: The Art of Ecstasy. Clearsighted and readable introduction to tantra, dispelling the usual “tantric sex” myths and offering a vision of an alternative thread in subcontinental spirituality. James McConnachie The Book of Love: In Search of the Kamasutra. Investigates the role of sex in Hinduism, touching on tantra, and traces how those ideas became known in the West. Axel Michaels Hinduism Past and Present. Heavyweight, International, India). This biography of Boris Lissanevitch, the Russian émigré who ran Kathmandu’s first tourist hotel, opens a fascinating window on 1950s Nepal. Anirban Roy Prachanda, The Unknown Revolutionary (Mandala Book Point, Nepal). Journalistic and anecdotal account of the Maoist leader. ★Manjushree Thapa Forget Kathmandu: An Elegy for Democracy. Published just before the royal coup in 2005, this trenchant account of the early years of the Maoist insurrection weaves it into the context of Nepal’s deeper history. Thapa is a novelist, and uses personal memoir and travelogue – she visits the Maoist heartland – to bring the politics alive. Ludmilla Tüting and Kunda Dixit Bikas-Binas, Development-Destruction (o/p). Dated but classic collection of articles covering the whole gamut of dilemmas arising out of development, environmental degradation and tourism. ★John Whelpton A History of Nepal. The best and most up-to-date general history of Nepal, published in 2005.

and still one of the most insightful books on Hinduism. Written by a Nepal specialist, it focuses on living practices rather than texts and mythology. Barbara Stoler Miller (trans.) The Bhagavad-Gita. A poetic English rendering of Krishna’s teaching. Stan Royal Mumford Himalayan Dialogue: Tibetan Lamas and Gurung Shamans in Nepal. An account of myths and rituals practised in a village along the Annapurna Circuit – fascinating, once you get past the anthropological jargon. R.K. Narayan (trans.) The Ramayana of Valmiki. One of the most engaging retellings of this magnificent tale. The Clay Sanskrit Library’s seven-volume version offers an elegant, high-minded (and full-length) alternative. John Powers Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism. A thorough introduction for beginners. Robert A.F. Thurman Essential Tibetan Buddhism. Weaves together classic texts with modern commentary; not for beginners.

ART AND ARCHITECTURE

Lydia Aran The Art of Nepal (Sahayogi, Nepal). Good overview of Nepalese religion as well as stone, metal and wood sculpture and thangka paintings. Hannelore Gabriel Jewelry of Nepal (o/p). A thorough cataloguing of traditional highland jewellery (less coverage is given to hill and Terai styles), with lavish illustrations. Michael Hutt Nepal: A Guide to the Art and Architecture of the Kathmandu Valley (o/p). An in-depth discussion of iconography, design and construction, from one of the leading scholars of Nepal. Eva Rudy Jansen The Book of Buddhas: Ritual Symbolism Used in Buddhist Statuary and Ritual Objects (Binkey Kok,

Netherlands; Motilal Banarsidass, India) and The Book of Hindu Imagery: The Gods and Their Symbols (New Age, India, plus Weiser, UK). Good introductory guides to the iconography of religious statuary. Jnan Bahadur Sakya A Short Description of Gods, Goddesses ipi8hfBu+Fu1Tqp6g5eaALs= and Ritual Objects of Buddhism and Hinduism in Nepal (Handicraft Association of Nepal). This extremely handy, inexpensive pamphlet is fairly widely available in Nepal. Madanjeet Singh Himalayan Art (South Asia Foundation). Dated – this is a reprint of the 1968 original –but still scholarly and fascinating. Focuses on wall paintings and sculptures.

FICTION AND POETRY

Laxmi Prasad Devkota Muna Madan (Nirala, Nepal). The most famous work by one of Nepal’s best-loved poets recounts the tragic, almost Shakespearean tale of a young Newari trader who leaves his young wife to travel to Lhasa. Michael Hutt (ed.) Himalayan Voices: An Introduction to Modern Nepali Literature (Indian Book Company, India, plus University of California Press). An excellent survey of Nepali poetry and fiction, with some commentary. ★Manjushree Thapa The Tutor of History (Penguin, India). Tensions build before an election in a small roadside town between Kathmandu and Pokhara. Hugely vivid evocation of politics, social mores, alcoholism and a quintessentially Nepali struggle against what appears to be fate. Seasons of Flight, her most recent novel, follows a

NATURAL HISTORY Richard Grimmett, Carol Inskipp and Tim Inskipp

Birds of Nepal. The authoritative guide. The authors have published numerous shorter guides as well. K.K. Gurung Heart of the Jungle (o/p). The essential guide to Chitwan’s flora and fauna, written by the former manager of Tiger Tops Jungle Lodge. George Schaller Stones of Silence: Journeys in the Himalaya (o/p). Written by the wildlife biologist who accompanied Peter Matthiessen on his quest for the snow leopard, this book provides a detailed view of ecosystems of the high Himalayas. Rishikesh Shaha and Richard M. Mitchell Wildlife in navel-gazing young Nepali woman on her journeys through the post-globalization Nepali diaspora. ★Samrat Upadhyay Arresting God in Kathmandu. This acclaimed collection of stories, written by a Nepali living in the US, takes on typically introspective Nepali themes – jealousy, self-doubt, desire, family tension. Upadhyay’s debut novel, The Guru of Love, tells a story of disturbed domesticity against the charged atmosphere of late-1990s Kathmandu. ★Narayan Wagle Palpasa Café (Nepa-laya, Nepal). Perhaps the definitive novel of the Maoist conflict era, written by a leading journalist. Conveyed in a direct, youthful, Murakami-like style, it puts a blighted romance between a drifting artist and a Nepali-American girl in the highly charged context of the troubles.

Nepal (Nirala, India). Brief but handily illustrated guide, with a fascinating section on the history of hunting in Nepal. Colin Smith A Photographic Pocket Guide to Butterflies of Nepal (Rohit Kumar, Nepal). Beautiful colour plates show butterflies in typical settings. Smith is the authority on butterflies, and has published a series of books of varying degrees of comprehensiveness. ★Adrian and Jimmie Storrs Enjoy Trees (Book Faith India). Great beginner’s guide to the more common flora of Nepal, covering flowers as well as trees, and with sections on medicinal and religious plants.

MOUNTAINEERING

W.E. Bowman The Ascent of Rum Doodle. This much-loved parody of a mountaineering expedition is the Spinal Tap of the Himalayan climbing scene. It even has a bar in Kathmandu named after it. Chris Bonington and Charles Clarke Everest: The Unclimbed Ridge. The classic story of the bold but ill-fated first attempt of Everest’s fearsome Northeast Ridge in 1982. ★Maurice Herzog Annapurna. One of the greatest true adventure stories ever written, describing the search for, and first successful ascent of, an 8000m peak. Herzog’s dreamlike description of his summit stupor and the tale of the desperate descent are riveting. Maurice Isserman and Stewart Weaver Fallen Giants: A History of Himalayan Mountaineering. This authoritative overview has great insights into the culture of

mountaineering in different ages, but it has to cover too many climbs to be a truly gripping read. ★Jon Krakauer Into Thin Air. The best-selling firstperson account of the 1996 Everest tragedy reads like a whodunnit and has all the elements of high tragedy: hubris, heroism, angry mountain gods, rivalry, vanity, triumph and agony. Sherry Ortner Life and Death on Mt Everest: Sherpas and Himalayan Mountaineering. The great anthropologist of the Sherpas brings all her knowledge to bear on this controversial topic, weaving some amazing stories as she does so. H.W. Tilman Nepal Himalaya (Pilgrims, Nepal). A chatty account of the first mountaineering reconnaissance of Nepal in 1949–51. Tilman was one of the century’s great adventurers, and his writing remains fresh and witty.ipi8hfBu+Fu1Tqp6g5eaALs=

TREKKING GUIDES

Stephen Bezruchka and Alonzo Lyons Trekking Nepal: A Traveler’s Guide (Mountaineers). Covers only the “teahouse” treks, not those in restricted areas, but is perhaps the most culturally sensitive book, containing background pieces on Nepali language, culture and natural history. Robin Boustead Nepal Trekking and the Great Himalaya Trail. A solid general trekking guide from Trailblazer, though it doesn’t offer all that much more detail in terms of the standard routes than is covered by this Rough Guide. That said, it’s good on more remote areas, and of course covers the monumentally ambitious, country-length, high-altitude Great Himalaya Trail, as pioneered by Boustead himself.

Bob Gibbons and Sian Pritchard-Jones Mustang: A Trekking Guide (Pilgrims, Nepal). A great guide to Mustang, despite the 1997 publishing date, which means it is hugely out of date on matters like roads and lodges. The authors also wrote the definitive guide to the Mount Kailash trek, heading out from Simikot into Tibet. Margaret Jefferies Highest Heritage: The Mount Everest Region and Sagarmatha National Park (Pilgrims, Nepal). Superbly detailed guide to the Everest region, covering Sherpa culture, landscape, history and wildlife, as well as giving brief trekking itineraries. Bradley Mayhew and Joe Bindloss Trekking in the Nepal Himalaya. This Lonely Planet guide divides treks into fixed days, which can be limiting, but is hugely detailed and written in an enjoyably breezy style, and the maps are decent. Unless you’re doing lots of treks, however, it makes more sense to buy a dedicated, singleregion guidebook. Jamie McGuinness Trekking in the Everest Region; Trekking in Langtang, Helambu and Gosainkund. The Trailblazer series has a friendly, useable feel, with hand-drawn maps and a chatty tone. The guides to all these routes are written by a vastly experienced leader of treks and climbs. Steve Razzetti Nepal: Trekking and Climbing – 25 Classic Treks and 12 Climbing Peaks (New Holland). Currently the only book in print – published in the US by Interlink – that describes trekking peaks in any detail. Kev Reynolds Annapurna; Everest; Manaslu; Kangchenjunga; Langtang; Gosainkund & Helambu. British publisher Cicerone produces well-written guides to all these areas, all by the indefatigable Reynolds, with plentiful colour photos, simple but easily readable maps, detailed route guides and lots of cultural background. Bryn Thomas Trekking in the Annapurna Region. A good, workmanlike guide to this popular region from Trailblazer, though the 100 pages of trek descriptions are rather overshadowed by general information on Nepal, Kathmandu, Pokhara and so on. Reviews of trekking lodges are unusually detailed.

MOUNTAIN BIKING AND WHITEWATER RAFTING GUIDES

James Giambrone Kathmandu Bikes & Hikes (o/p). Now over twenty years old, this book still gives a decent account of cycling routes in and around Kathmandu, especially when paired with an up-to-date map. Peter Knowles and Darren Clarkson-King White Water Nepal. Updated in 2011, this is the definitive guide.

MISCELLANEOUS

Jim Duff and Peter Gormly The Himalayan First Aid Manual (World Expeditions, Nepal). Handy pocket-sized booklet. ★Jyothi Pathak Taste of Nepal. Authoritative, comprehensive and mouthwatering cookbook.

Andrew J. Pollard, David R. Murdoch and James S.

Milledge The High Altitude Medicine Handbook (Book Faith India). Everything you need to know for a trek.

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