Book Review: Ladakh – Crossroads of High Asia
Author: Janet Rizvi
Publishers: Oxford University Press
Pages: 264
Janet Rizvi’s book on Ladakh provides comprehensive information on every aspect of Ladakh – the life of it’s people, history, geography, religion, culture and economy. It is meant for people with serious interest in knowing about the region and understand the local culture and way of life, or to the non-casual traveller who is keen to get a detailed understanding of his or her destination before travelling. It can even serve as a guide, not in terms of where to stay and what to see, but giving in depth knowledge of every place visited.
The book is divided into chapters related to geography, history, culture, present day Ladakh and religious affiliations. Each chapter can be read independently and it should be easy to skip sections that the reader may not be interested in. How-ever, names from history are repeated in many chapters, making reading the chapters on history worthwhile. If a good introduction to everything related to Ladakh is what you are looking for, look no further than this book.