Asia
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All Strangers are Kin—Adventures in Arabic and the Arab World: Zora O’Neill
Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, 336 pages At a time when media coverage of the Middle East and North Africa is full of images of war, destruction and repression, and Arabic is increasingly associated with terrorists, Zora O’Neill’s book provides another… Continue reading
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A Journey Interrupted—Being Indian in Pakistan: Farzana Versey
Published by HarperCollins India, 2008, 299 pages This book about travelling in Pakistan is particularly interesting because the author is an Indian Muslim woman, whose various identities affect the way she perceives and is perceived by Pakistani people. Farzana Versey… Continue reading
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Indonesia etc.—Exploring the Improbable Nation: Elizabeth Pisani
Published by W. W. Norton & Company / Granta Publications, 2014, 405 pages Indonesia is a complex country. It is made up of 13,466 islands with over 360 ethnic groups and 719 languages. When it gained independence from the Dutch… Continue reading
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The Kama Sutra Diaries—Intimate Journeys through Modern India: Sally Howard
Published by Tranquebar Press / John Murray, 2013, 248 pages This is a travel book with a difference. Sally Howard takes us on a journey through the sexual mores of India, with all the contradictions. The civilization that gave us… Continue reading
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The Olive Route—A Personal Journey to the Heart of the Mediterranean: Carol Drinkwater
Published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2006, 448 pages. Carol Drinkwater is passionate about the olive tree—she has an olive grove in Provence—and this book is about her search for its history around the Mediterranean through Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Malta, Tunisia,… Continue reading
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Honeymoon in Purdah—An Iranian Journey: Alison Wearing
Published by Picador / Macmillan, 2000, 336 pages. This book is a mosaic of Iran, made up through portraits of its people. It is perceptive, funny and thoroughly enjoyable. By providing a glimpse into everyday lives, it breaks the stereotypes… Continue reading
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Around India in 80 Trains: Monisha Rajesh
Published by Nicholas Brealey, 2017, 288 pages. Looking out of her window on a foggy London day, Monisha Rajesh feels she needs a change. So begins her journey to India. Rajesh’s family had moved back to India from Sheffield in… Continue reading






