'The best kind of travel writer' Peter Parker, The Daily Telegraph
The Financial Times: Paddy Docherty 'Her passion is infectious throughout...an inspiring book'
The Guardian: Kevin Rushby 'a superlative travel narrative'
Times Literary Supplement: John Ure 'Albinia brings scholarship and understanding to her trip'
New Statesman: Ziauddin Sardar 'As history, it is spellbinding. As the first book of a young writer, it's an impressive achievement.'
The Independent: Hugh Thomson 'Alice Albinia is well placed to unpick the country's complex history in this impressive debut'
The Scotsman ‘Travelogue and objective come together here… its originality, enthusiasm and understanding add up to a memorable, illuminating read.’
The Sunday Times: Anthony Sattin 'it deserves to be a book of the year'
The Financial Times: Susan Elderkin Books of the Year 2008
New Statesman: Fatima Bhutto Books of the Year 2008
Granta: Tahmima Anam Books of the Year 2008
The Spectator: Lee Langley 'a spellbinding blend of discovery, elation and frustration'
World Radio: discussion of the book with Jack Turner 'an enthralling portrayal of a mosaic-like part of the world... a wonderful piece of writing'
South China Morning Post: Charmaine Chan 'The tears Alice Albinia shed for Empires of the Indus were worth every drop'
Indian Express: Tishani Doshi 'This book is a rare thing'
Time Out Delhi: Avtar Singh 'what will entrance you is the way she weaves history, in all its varied shapes and forms'
Indian Express: Minir S. Sharma 'we're drawn into the strange mix of cultures and histories that populate the Indus'
Outlook: Barkha Dutt 'there is a lot to savour in this unusual travelogue'
DNA: Alpana Chowdhury 'What emerges from her amazing expedition is an absorbing account'
The Telegraph: Sunanda K. Datta-Ray 'a beautifully written and highly evocative travelogue'
Business Standard: Rrishi Raote 'a rich and sparkling gem'
The Hindu: Shelley Walia 'a profound and insightful picture of life on the Indus'
Mint: Chandrahas Choudhury 'a startling and finally remarkable book'
The Financial Express: Suman Tarafdar 'a remarkable book'
Biblio: A Review of Books: Ritu Menon 'a rich and densely packed historical travelogue that recreates - wondrously - the people and places the river brings to life'
Tehelka: Jai Arjun Singh 'her compelling eye-opener of a book'
The Week: Rekha Dixit 'the journey is as racy as its narrative'
The Hindu: Bageshree S. 'an adventurous journey'
Business World: Sumati Nagrath 'a delightful and insightful travel-cum-historical narrative'
The Telegraph: Poulomi Banerjee 'The narrative combines the author's experiences of the... present with the past'
Times of India: Minu Ittyipe 'this journey up the river is beautifully told'
Business Standard: Rrishi Raote 'Empires of the Indus is novel in style as well as structure'
Businessworld Online: Alokita Datta 'a varied history spanning 5,000 years'
Newsline: Tehmina Ahmed 'Alice Albinia pulls off a difficult feat'
Dawn: Asif Farrukhi 'a powerful writer'
Barnes & Noble Review: Best Books of 2010.
Barnes & Noble Review: Robert Messenger, 'an epic journey... a beautiful book' Best Books of 2010
Libération: Jean-Pierre Perrin, 'Thanks to her adventurous pen, we are less ignorant'
PRAISE FROM OTHER WRITERS
'Empires of the Indus is a marvellous book, so insightful and empathetic, a work of literature as well as scholarship... The book is immeasurably superior to any other travel book written by a Westerner on the subcontinent in the past twenty years (at least!). The only book that comes close is by a naturalized Indian, Bill Aitken's Seven Sacred Rivers.'
'Ramachandra Guha, author of India After Gandhi
'Alice Albinia is the most extraordinary traveler of her generation.... A journey of astonishing confidence and courage.'
Rory Stewart, author of The Places in Between
'A fabulously thoughtful, learned, perceptive and stereotype-breaking book... I was blown away. Empires of the Indus is a breathtaking debut by an author who writes enviably cadent and beautiful prose.'
William Dalrymple, author of Nine Lives
'Alice Albinia's adventure through the Indus river valley is meticulously researched, beautifully written, and reads like a thriller. Empires of the Indus is an homage to the diversity of the region, providing a crucial counter-narrative to the media stereotypes about contemporary Pakistan. Albinia writes with humility, candor, and humor about her experiences, making this book not just a history lesson and travelogue, but an unputdownable page-turner.'
Tahmima Anam, author of A Golden Age
‘I have travelled much of the territory described here but I cannot say that I remotely knew it until I read this wonderful book. With her debut work Alice Albinia is set to take her place alongside the greats like Eric Newby and Colin Thubron. Her prose is lucid and entertaining and her insights invariably penetrating.’
Fergal Keane, writer and broadcaster
'A vivid, thoughtful, idiosyncratic mix of travel, adventure and history - absorbing and delightful.'
Professor Peter Robb, SOAS
‘Compellingly told this is a fascinating story of not just a river but the civilizations it spawned and the empires it supported.’
Moni Mohsin, author of The End of Innocence