Temptations of the West: How to be Modern in India, Pakistan and Beyond

by PankajMishra (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  2007

  $11.71

  From Bollywood stars in Bombay worrying whether they are sexy enough to a heroin addict in Pakistan mocking jihad; from Indian mafia dons with political ambitions to Afghans waiting for American benevolence; from Kashmiri Muslims longing for democracy to Tibetan Buddhists fighting to preserve religion in politics - Temptations of the West is a travel book unlike any other. In a narrative as revealing as it is profound, Pankaj Mishra's new book dissolves the old boundaries between East and West, challenging every romantic cliche about the conflicts and dilemmas at the heart of the modern world.

  `Mishra offers a compelling blend of memoir, narrative history, politics, religion and philosophy. Thoughtful, intelligent and rigorous, this is a deep, insightful study of the very notion of modernity' Observer

  `Mishra is a precise observer and a subtle analyst, keener to understand than to blame . . . In a thousand details - such as the grimace he catches on the face of a sycophantic businessman as a politician's bodyguard rinses curry-stained hands in his swimming pool - he salutes humanity's paradoxes and wit' The Economist

  `Wonderful. The narrative is interspersed with sophisticated cultural commentary . . . and, if anything, the point of this important book is to collapse fallacious distinctions between East and West' Conde Nast Traveller

• Used

  Hardcover
  2006

  $3.22

  Old, new; rich, poor; rural, urban; Brahmin, Dalit; Hindi, Muslim. India is a country of contrasts, and Temptations of the West explores this diversity in all its forms. From the empty corridors of a grand but guestless western-style hotel to improvised shacks clustered along muddy roadsides; from the polite efficiency of stewards on board one of India's private airlines to overpopulated tenements and one-roomed school buildings where no teachers ever set foot; from sites of religious worship to those of mass burial; from road blocks to voting booths -- as Mishra's travels take him from one part of India to another, and then beyond, to Pakistan and Afghanistan, he paints a clear and often alarming picture of disarray and disorder. All too often, superficial changes seem simply to paper over the cracks, and beneath modern facades, the old tensions still exist.

  A travel book unlike any other, Temptations of the West also offers a detailed and thought-provoking exploration of the histories, politics, religions and philosophies of India - and her neighbours.

• New

  Paperback
  2007

  $21.25