The Imperial Way

This slim, coffee table volume of 143 pages and 82 photos offers more than what first glance might suggest. Being interested in Rudyard Kipling and his writings (24 volumes, 1905 editions on my shelves) the mention of Lahore and Simla immediately grabbed my attention. The book, however, offers much more than those cities, especially since the territory of the journey covers not only India, but Pakistan, and Bangladesh as well, or more geographically proper from Pakistan across the top of India to Bangladesh. His intended train trip was from Peshawar southeast to Chittagong, with comments of most stations in between. The opening dialogue reaches 30 pages with photographs and captions taking up the remainder of the book. Beyond this the book also offers several good maps to keep the reader informed as to the areas discussed. The trip began just as the monsoon season was starting with several photographs of flooded areas along the way, with the one shown on pages 136 and 137 being most impressive. Daily life and culture plus comments from people along the way continually enliven the book. I found my copy at a local Goodwill for pocket change and treasure the book and the information within the book. The photographs are all in color with very good color and dimension. Further the outstanding photographs by Steve McCurry take most of us readers into lands which we are unfamiliar. For any readers interested this book will be something they will no doubt wish to read and view more than once. Semper Fi.