A rare glimpse into the mind of one of the better-known viceroys, Lord Curzon (Viceroy 1894-1905). This selection does not deal with the larger questions of British rule and policy, but with some of his tours and excursions in the interior districts of the subcontinent, with somewhat humorous sketches of the locals and their foibles. The latter half of the volume is given to his account of a march into the wild Northwest Frontier province and beyond, to the Wakhan plateau in the Pamirs of Afghanistan, and the source of the Oxus river (which he claims to have discovered). An engaging look into the minds and spirit of the British rulers in India, and their affectionate, if somewhat bemused, reactions to the local rajahs and other personalities. Original photographs from those times, showing the variety of transport modes, and the importance of elephants and horses, add value. ( )

Valuable book to have a historical sense of the region and the conflicts which are still continuing there to this day. Curzon is a more interesting character than is acknowledged today because of the continued leftist and liberationist ideology of denouncing imperialism. ( )

This book shows that even Viceroys have a sense of humour, ( )