Kathmandu Hardcover – April 15, 2016

Hoping to travel to Kathmandu with friends in the future. This will be my way of preparing for the trip. Very detailed and helpful. Not that many books like it on the market.

I bought this book on Amazon.in.This book is not really a novel, but it is. It is not really a travel book, but it is. It is not really an autobiography, but it is –one that is dedicated to a relatively small but major part of the author’s life. And yes, a small but major part of the life of the country he writes about. Nepal.Whatever it is, it was pleasurable reading for me, because it was all about Kathmandu and Nepal, and at least to my biased eyes, the author seems to share my love for that city and that country, Himalayan warts and all.The book is about the author’s stay in Kathmandu. He came there as a press correspondent the year after the royal palace massacre of June 2001. I think he is still there as I write this review in March 2018.He came at a time of an armed Maoist insurgency and overall political turmoil, turmoil that continues to this day.He became besotted with Nepal, like I did. He lived with a traditional family in a traditional part of town. He married a Nepali lady and they have kids.He developed deep friendships with Nepalese of all castes and social and economic statuses. He took great pains to research Nepal, mostly from the political history viewpoint, and he has gems in the book that I found enthralling. He dug up old manuscripts that talk about the Nepal of the days well before the country opened up to the world in the 1950s. He went deep into Maoist held territory at the height of the insurgency. He talked to Maoist rebels. He made friends in the army and police. He got insider stories of the war and the atrocities committed by both sides.And he put it all into this book. That is what makes it a fascinating read for me..Will it make a fascinating read for you? I hope so. I think you should try it out.If you have already been to Nepal, you will find it engrossing. If you plan to go to Nepal some time, you will still find it engrossing.

Outstanding read. Bell knows the city and environs. A nice mix of journalism and history

TOP OF THE WORLD TO YOU, MR BELL, ON YOUR SPECIAL JOURNEY:AN EXCELLENT TRAVEL BOOK FROM HAUS TO A LAND MOST OF WILL NEVER VISITAn appreciation by Phillip Taylor MBE and Elizabeth Taylor of Richmond Green ChambersSome years ago, we met a man on a train once and he had (almost) got to the top of Everest. He was a big man, and bold and very well known to the public because of his booming voice and some serious acting parts. He was ‘touched by Everest’ and the surrounding area – it would always affect him – and it became apparent quickly that the area has held and will always hold for him and many others that special mystical quality and beauty which the world saw so recently when the area was devastated by disaster. “Kathmandu” is a special travel book about a special place and lovingly researched by Thomas Bell, and a terrific read.As one of the greatest cities of the Himalaya, Kathmandu, Nepal, has rightly been described as a “unique blend of thousand-year-old cultural practices and accelerated urban development”. Haus Publishing have done us proud as travel book readers with such a detailed account of the area and maintain their lead as excellent specialist publishers for this genre.Thomas Bell, as the author of “Kathmandu” is an expert on Asia and he has brought much detail and expertise to this work. He describes his experiences vividly from his many years in the city exploring in the process the rich history of Kathmandu and, as he says, “its many instances of self-reinvention”.Rightly, politics is never very far away because the area was closed to the outside world until 1951. It was literally “trapped in a medieval time warp”. The area is described in the book as “a jewel of the art world, a carnival of sexual license, a hotbed of communist revolution, a paradigm of failed democracy, a case study in bungled western intervention, and an environmental catastrophe” in the compelling words of Bell so there is some excitement for all here, then, and it is a great read!Bell describes Kathmandu with an imagery which can never be considered purple patch writing about a place using phrases such as where “the layered development of the city can be seen in the successive generations of its gods and goddesses” with “its comfort in the caste system and ethos of aristocracy and kingship” and “the recent destabilizing effects of consumerist approaches and the push for egalitarianism and democracy”.There are always major problems encountered when places such as Kathmandu with all its history are opened to the world and what we call, sometimes ironically, as “progress” although Bell’s Kathmandu is a most informative contemporary statement which will be compulsory reading for the potential visitor.In important ways, Kathmandu’s quick modernization may well be an extreme version of what has happened to other traditional societies with all the benefits and damages that goes with it. Bell also discusses the ramifications of the recent Nepal earthquake for contemporary detail.It is a lovely, beautifully researched and presented book and most certainly gives us a comprehensive look at “a top global destination” for that is what Kathmandu is- and it’s “an entertaining and accessible chronicle for anyone eager to learn more about this fascinating city." We certainly did!The publication date is stated as 2016.

This is a journalistic piece of writing. Disconnected at many places because as the writer confessed in one of the chapters, he wrote this book after picking up pieces from so many books and paper work that contains years of research. Stringing a coherent story from strewn material is never easy. This book, however, has insights and some interesting facts. Good for a one time read though I had problems in being attentive. The book doesnt grow on you - at least I had to force myself to finish it.

The writer is a friend and former colleague of mine and I've always known his work to be excellent. This book surpassed my expectations. Read it for the magic of Kathmandu's lush and living urban culture and for biting analysis of the inept and corrupt governance that so plagues Nepal. Read it to find inspiration among people who meet adversity with humour, philosophy, their rich culture and desire for change. This is a book for people en route to Nepal and looking for ideas and insight, and it's a book for armchair travelers who want to experience a place like no other. Thomas Bell knows Kathmandu and Nepal thoroughly and his writing is lively, engaged and fluent. His journalism is excellent and the book leaves you with that all too rare feeling of wanting it to go on.....just a little longer. Despite it being a rather lengthy tome to begin with, there's just not enough "Kathmandu". We look forward to a sequel.

A 101 course for any first time visitor to Kathmandu. Any easy read. Mr. Bell quickly helps the reader understand what she/he sees when walking the street of Kathmandu. I loved the book. One correction though: Page 256 - The author mentions USAID's presence during the 1950s. USAID was founded during the Kennedy administration on November 3, 1961.

Up to date and insightful.Gives a full description of the history and culture of both the city and the country

good

This book is not really a novel, but it is. It is not really a travel book, but it is. It is not really an autobiography, but it is –one that is dedicated to a relatively small but major part of the author’s life. And yes, a small but major part of the life of the country he writes about. Nepal.Whatever it is, it was pleasurable reading for me, because it was all about Kathmandu and Nepal, and at least to my biased eyes, the author seems to share my love for that city and that country, Himalayan warts and all.The book is about the author’s stay in Kathmandu. He came there as a press correspondent the year after the royal palace massacre of June 2001. I think he is still there as I write this review in March 2018.He came at a time of an armed Maoist insurgency and overall political turmoil, turmoil that continues to this day.He became besotted with Nepal, like I did. He lived with a traditional family in a traditional part of town. He married a Nepali lady and they have kids.He developed deep friendships with Nepalese of all castes and social and economic statuses. He took great pains to research Nepal, mostly from the political history viewpoint, and he has gems in the book that I found enthralling. He dug up old manuscripts that talk about the Nepal of the days well before the country opened up to the world in the 1950s. He went deep into Maoist held territory at the height of the insurgency. He talked to Maoist rebels. He made friends in the army and police. He got insider stories of the war and the atrocities committed by both sides.And he put it all into this book. That is what makes it a fascinating read for me..Will it make a fascinating read for you? I hope so. I think you should try it out.If you have already been to Nepal, you will find it engrossing. If you plan to go to Nepal some time, you will still find it engrossing.

Interesting, engaging and an engrossing overview of the history and peoples of kathmandu

Good service and good book.