Planes, Trains, and Auto-Rickshaws

Planes, Trains, and Auto-Rickshaws by Laura Pedersen
Non-Fiction
Pedersen has digressed from her normal writings and provides the reader with an insight into India. Part travelogue, part history and part philosophy, this book will hit a note with everyone.

From Delhi, the Taj Mahal, Mumbai to the south of India all the highlights and then some are covered. Travel tips interspersed with lots of sarcastic humor. Pedersen covers all the major tourist spots but also some of the quaint and extraordinary ones. Pedersen doesn't just cover the good but also touches on the ugly, such as the traffic.

Pedersen also covers a lot of the history of India. I found this section particularly interesting. Pedersen discussed how there are many religions and how many of them have taken turns in governing the country. For each of the political leaders Pedersen has written a small biography.

Finally a section of the book covered women and children's issues in India. This section of society really has a hard time and even through many things have improved there is still a long way to go before it can be considered to be an equal gender society.

Pedersen has not written an in-depth review of India but rather touched on a variety of places like a butterfly flitting from flower to flower. This ignites the interest of the reader and makes them want to search for more information.

First Line: "My introduction to India came through that bedrock of American recreation during the latter half of the twentieth century, the television."


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Rating:
(3.5/5)