Temptations of the West

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.