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

A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice

In Temptations of the West, Pankaj Mishra brings literary authority and political insight to bear on journeys through South Asia, and considers the pressures of Western-style modernity and prosperity on the region. Beginning in India, his examination takes him from the realities of Bollywood stardom, to the history of Jawaharlal Nehru's post-independence politics. In Kashmir, he reports on the brutal massacre of thirty-five Sikhs, and its intriguing local aftermath. And in Tibet, he exquisitely parses the situation whereby the atheist Chinese government has discovered that Tibetan Buddhism can be packaged and sold to tourists. Temptations of the West is essential reading about a conflicted and rapidly changing region of the world.

Author: Pankaj Mishra
Publisher: St. Martins Press-3PL
Published: 06/12/2007
Pages: 336
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.85lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.40w x 0.90d
ISBN: 9780312426415

Review Citation(s):
New York Times 08/05/2007 pg. 20

About the Author

Pankaj Mishra is the author of the novel The Romantics, and An End to Suffering. His writing frequently appears in the The New York Review of Books, Granta, and London's Times Literary Supplement. He lives in London and India.

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