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Title: India: The Rough Guide (2nd Ed) by David Abram, Devdan Sen, Harriet Sharkey, Gareth John Williams, Nick Edwards, Daniel Jacobs, Rough Guides (Firm) ISBN: 1-85828-200-4 Publisher: Rough Guides Pub. Date: January, 1997 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $23.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.88 (8 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Good travel book but horrendously biased...
Comment: I would like to say this book has a pretty good overview of tourist attractions, accommadations and travellers tips. It is however at times just rude to India and Hinduism in particular. It always mentions Buddhism first such as "Buddhist and Hindu temples" and the like. It also has the nerve to say of Varanasi, "before it was the most sacred place in the world for Hindu, the Buddha preached his first sermon near here". Besides this and incorporating the bogus Aryan Invasion Theory in the history section, I would recommend this book to readers but beware of some of its facts
Rating: 4
Summary: As someone returning to India...
Comment: I have a different perspective on this book than a "regular tourist". I was looking for the following -
a) a reasonably clear overview of each city or historical site, when it was built, and by whom, and why it is of importance to tourists and to India
b) reasonable detail for cities, outside of the usual tourist attractions
c) some attractions/ towns not listed in most tourist books.
I was checking the sections on West Bengal and Orissa in particular (having lived and travelled in both states). I used those sections to compare between this guide (the 1999 edition) and Lonely Planet etc. For my purposes, Rough Guide was the most helpful - in describing places, in offering different ways to get around (with notes on how safe it is for women etc), in evaluating the historical and/or tourist appeal of places, and so forth. I think I fell for this guide when I noticed the level of detail it had on eating places and places of worship in a residential area in South Calcutta (not to mention a critique of the Pipli handicraft industry).
The little vignettes on getting around in a Hindu holy site (and in temples, where allowed in) were also quite interesting. I have never been one to make pilgrimages, but if I wanted to do so, this would be useful to have along. The history section was surprisingly thorough and balanced - and I learned new things not covered in Indian history textbooks in school.
Is this book perfect? Of course not. But a guidebook generally cannot cater to all tastes equally. For me (a non-tourist but an NRI returning home), it did quite well (even though Jammu & Kashmir were omitted but Ladakh was included). It sparked in me the determination to visit Madhya Pradesh (one of the few states I have never visited) and parts of the Northeast. I would love to see a Rough Guide or the equivalent that focuses more on Eastern and North-eastern India, but until this, this works fine.
Rating: 3
Summary: Good background book.
Comment: I took this book on my first trip to India and once there didn't even use it. We didn't go to the tourist-y places so didn't need the book, and the places we went weren't in the book. The history and culture sections were useful in pre-trip preparation. We found clean and inexpensive hotels and restaurants on our own; it wasn't difficult. While in India I did find a book called Culture Shock: India. This is the book I wish I would have found and purchased before my trip and it's the one I've been recommending to everyone (even if they don't ask me!). Go to India without a guidebook!
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Title: Lonely Planet India (India, 10th Ed) by Sarina Singh, Arnold Barkhordarian, Charlotte Beech ISBN: 1740594215 Publisher: Lonely Planet Pub. Date: August, 2003 List Price(USD): $27.99 |
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Title: Culture Shock: India (Culture Shock! Guides) by Gitanjal Kolanad, Gitanjali Kolanad ISBN: 1558686193 Publisher: Graphic Arts Center Publishing Co. Pub. Date: June, 2001 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: Eyewitness Travel Guides: India (Eyewitness Travel Guides) by Abha Narain Lamba, Dorling Kindersley Publishing ISBN: 0789483955 Publisher: DK Publishing Pub. Date: 01 September, 2002 List Price(USD): $30.00 |
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Title: Footprint India Handbook 2003 by Robert Bradnock, Roma Bradnock ISBN: 1903471389 Publisher: Footprint Pub. Date: November, 2002 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
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Title: Lonely Planet North India (North India, 1st Ed) by Mark Honan, Joseph Bindloss, Paul Greenway, Alan Murphy, Joyce Connolly, Anthony Ham, Sarina Singh ISBN: 1864503300 Publisher: Lonely Planet Pub. Date: October, 2001 List Price(USD): $21.99 |
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