In this lavish coffee-table book, translated from the original Italian, the Baldizzones (Timeless India, Antique Collectors' Club, 1997) explore one of South Asia's major rivers through its myths and religious lore. Rising in Tibet and merging with the Ganges in Bangladesh, it is also known as the Tsangpo and the Jamuna. The stunning photos depict traditional life along its course, and the text blends background description with an account of the authors' travels along it in 1995. What it lacks is a map of the river today so that readers can follow the text more easily. Nonetheless, this is a rich visual introduction to a little-visited region that will likely not stay the way it is much longer. The Chinese are said to be considering damming it in Tibet. Recommended for public libraries that can afford such high-quality but unavoidably expensive travel books.?Harold M. Otness, Southern Oregon Univ. Lib., Ashland
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Product Description
The River Brahmaputra runs from the Himalayas in Tibet, through India, and on through Bangladesh, winding its way through three countries, numerous languages and cultures, and three great religions: Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam. Tales from the River Brahmaputra follows the course of this sacred river with 150 stunning photos accompanied by descriptive text, seeing in its timeless flowing an allegory of birth, childhood, youth, maturity, and old age. The book chronicles the lives of the people who live along the river and their relationship to it, as well as each region's architecture, agriculture, history, religion, and culture.
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