Rating: 
Summary: very interesting
Review: An enjoyable account of an unusual journey through indian history, the diamond trade, and the legendary story ofthe koh-i-Noor diamond, which resides in the tower of london, and has a curse on it - presumably responsible for the British Royal Family's decline! My only criticism is that I wanted to know more about the diamond's story, but otherwise a good book
Rating:
Summary: Other Koh-I-Noor
Review: For those who were fascinated by Rushby's very ggod book, you might want to learn a bit more about how it passed from the Sikhs to the Brits in "Flashman and the Mountain of Light", a relatively recent installment in George MacDonald Fraser's memoirs of the completely (? ) fictional Sir Harry Flashman. While working in fiction, Fraser as always weaves his bounder of a hero into a very accurate description of the historical facts
Rating: 
Summary: strange story
Review: great travel book and weird subject. I've seen the koh-i-noor in the tower of london, but i didn't know about its history. Rushby's travel writing is excellent [check out his other book on the yemen for another weird treck with the arabs], and the diamond bits were very interesting - looks like Queen Elizabeth might be getting a few indians at her palace door asking for it back soon!
Rating: 
Summary: Unexpected Dividend
Review: I bought this book to learn about more about the Koh-i-Noor and I found a much more interesting story in the despcriptions of India before partition and the gardens and architecture of the Mughals. At the start it's a bit on the 'ho hum, another traveling around India on the cheap' but once Rushby gets to Gujarat and beyond it's teriffic.
Rating:
Summary: much more than the history of diamonds is told....
Review: Kevin Rushby's trek across India in search of the legendary diamond, the "Koh-I-Noor" (mountain of light)is much more than a history of this fabled and "cursed" stone from the Golconda mine. Rushby's journey takes the reader through many small villages, many of them long abandoned after British rule.Rushby's days in Gujarat state are the most interesting. There, he meets an old gentleman who lives in a large but very lonely estate home. They speak of the old days when the gentleman's estate was full of people, servants and animals. Now, his days are spent on the rooftop terrace taking tea in the afternoon and reminiscing about his past. A sense of melancholy and lost time is felt throughout all the varied characters' lives Rushby comes to know so well. The story of the diamond trade and the wars fought over their inherent riches is only a small part of the book. The stories of the Indian people Rushby meets make this a great read for those of us who have not yet seen India. Time for me to book passage!
Rating:
Summary: Drawing Pictures with Words & telling the tale as a journey
Review: Read this book in 2 days...beautifully written. Rushby keeps the reader engaged and provides the most intresting descriptions of places, sounds and smells as he journey's across India. Inspires you to follow the route! For those studing Duleep Singh or the Panjab, this a must have for your collection.
Rating:
Summary: Rambles in A Faceted Land
Review: Rushby follows the legend(s) of the Koh-i-Noor diamond (the title's "Mountain of Light") as well as the history of Indian and Middle Eastern gem trading in this entertaining book. Like all good travel books, a unifying theme, once found, is seldom respected slavishly, so someone expecting a diligent history of the diamond itself and its travels would be better served by the Encyclopedia Brittanica. For others who wish to see an unusual side of the Indian subcontinent and its history, Rushby's an affable and able guide.
Rating:
Summary: Rambles in A Faceted Land
Review: Rushby follows the legend(s) of the Koh-i-Noor diamond (the title's "Mountain of Light") as well as the history of Indian and Middle Eastern gem trading in this entertaining book. Like all good travel books, a unifying theme, once found, is seldom respected slavishly, so someone expecting a diligent history of the diamond itself and its travels would be better served by the Encyclopedia Brittanica. For others who wish to see an unusual side of the Indian subcontinent and its history, Rushby's an affable and able guide.
Rating:
Summary: Rambles in A Faceted Land
Review: Rushby follows the legend(s) of the Koh-i-Noor diamond (the title's "Mountain of Light") as well as the history of Indian and Middle Eastern gem trading in this entertaining book. Like all good travel books, a unifying theme, once found, is seldom respected slavishly, so someone expecting a diligent history of the diamond itself and its travels would be better served by the Encyclopedia Brittanica. For others who wish to see an unusual side of the Indian subcontinent and its history, Rushby's an affable and able guide.
Rating:
Summary: WELL WORTH THE CHASE
Review: Simply, beautifully written, takes you THERE...I've been to India, many of those places he's written about, and he recreates them on the page like a stereographic synaesthetic pop-up from the page. Made me laugh really hard, too, unexpectedly. Full of sights, sounds, history-in-living color, intrigue and mystery. An ideal read for armchair backpackers and yogis, and for anyone without an armchair, for that matter.
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