MARC Record from Library of Congress

LEADER: 03216cam a22004338i 4500
001 2015033401
003 DLC
005 20151202080918.0
008 151127s2016 nyu b 001 0deng
010 $a 2015033401
020 $a9780385351270 (hardback)
040 $aDLC$beng$erda$cDLC
042 $apcc
043 $aa-ce---
050 00 $aDS489$b.G515 2016
082 00 $a915.49304/32$223
084 $aTRV003060$aTRV010000$aHIS048000$2bisacsh
100 1 $aGimlette, John,$d1963-
245 10 $aElephant complex :$btravels in Sri Lanka /$cJohn Gimlette.
250 $aFirst edition.
263 $a1602
264 1 $aNew York :$bAlfred A. Knopf,$c2016.
300 $apages cm
336 $atext$btxt$2rdacontent
337 $aunmediated$bn$2rdamedia
338 $avolume$bnc$2rdacarrier
500 $a"A Borzoi book"--Title page verso.
520 2 $a"From one of our most widely praised travel writers--author of Wild Coast and Panther Soup--an eye-opening journey through Sri Lanka that, in the author's inimitable mixture of history, observation, and interpretation, reveals the island nation to us as never before. Writing with his signature eye for the unusually telling detail, his sense of urbane wonder, and his investigative desire for the whole story, John Gimlette takes us from Sri Lanka's exuberant capital city of Colombo to the dry interior where more than 5,300 wild elephants congregate around its ancient reservoirs; from the Portuguese-built forts of cinnamon country to the tsunami-ravaged south-east; from the tea plantations of the highlands and the Shangri-la-ish city of Kandy to the desiccated Jaffna Peninsula in the north. He examines Sri Lanka's colonial history (Portuguese, British, Dutch and Arab); the centuries-old strife between Sinhalese and Tamils; and the most recent civil war, which lasted from 1983 to 2009. He describes his encounters with world-class cricketers, terrorists, a former president, ancient tribesmen, British expats, survivors of the civil war massacres, and with the island's amazing flora and fauna, including the world's greatest concentration of leopards. He discovers a place of both extravagant beauty and profound devastation, a place capable of being both heavenly and hellish at the same time, and succeeds in bringing it to vibrant, fascinating life on the page"--$cProvided by publisher.
504 $aIncludes bibliographical references and index.
505 0 $aMap -- Colombo Jumbo -- All Quiet Among the Reservoir Giants -- The Cinnamon Forts -- A State of Perpetual Vacation -- The Garden in the Sky -- Kandy -- Land of Hope and Tea -- The Wild East -- Trinco, Trinco, Little Star -- Multi-barrel Love Enforcer -- The Jaffna Peninsula -- The Shoes on the Shore -- Green As Ever -- Afterword.
651 0 $aSri Lanka$xDescription and travel.
600 10 $aGimlette, John,$d1963-$xTravel$zSri Lanka.
651 0 $aSri Lanka$xSocial life and customs.
651 0 $aSri Lanka$xHistory.
650 0 $aHistoric sites$zSri Lanka.
650 0 $aNatural history$zSri Lanka.
650 7 $aTRAVEL / Asia / Southeast.$2bisacsh
650 7 $aTRAVEL / Essays & Travelogues.$2bisacsh
650 7 $aHISTORY / Asia / Southeast Asia.$2bisacsh