Empire of the Soul: Some Journeys in India

One of the finest travel writers has taken on the most impenetrable country, describing his spiritual pilgrimages of the '70s and return visits of the '90s. Paul William Roberts says "[India] is the only country that feels like home to me, the only country whose airport tarmac I have ever kissed upon landing." But no sentimentality dulls Roberts's keen eye as he visits ashrams, junkie dens, and Mother Teresa's order, explaining the complex history of castes and colonialization as he goes. He ferrets out beauty and hypocrisy with an insightful take on the masses of humanity that travel and live there.