The Rough Guide to India

By Joshua | November 23rd, 2005 | 3 Comments »

Our brick-sized companion during four months on the subcontinent has been The Rough Guide to India, 5th Edition, by David Abram, Devdan Sen, Nick Edwards, Mike Ford and Beth Wooldridge. Although I was a bit put-off with the book’s overly-vague price ranges (which sometimes spanned 2000 rupees, or more than US$50!), I know this is not the fault of the authors who, I am glad to say, did an outstanding job.

My biggest praise goes to the authors’ spot-on descriptions of accommodations, which are precise and wonderfully reliable. I like their sparing and dependable use of “immaculate,” a word I consider sacrosanct in my guidebook writing, and I’ve grown accustomed to British-isms like “poky,” and “grotty.” Equally impressive is the authors’ knowledgeable treatment of history, religion, and other background information which was obviously researched with great care.

All in all, good show, lads!