Journey to India

Waldemar BonselsProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.3

Word count: 447K words
Chapters: 45

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Indienfahrt by Waldemar BonselsAuthor: Bonsels, Waldemar, 1881?-1952,Language: German, Class: DS: History: General and Eastern Hemisphere: Asia, Release Date: Jan 20, 2008

Editor's review

Indienfahrt is a travelogue by the German writer Waldemar Bonsels, published in German and released free by Project Gutenberg. It is classified under Asian history and geography and belongs to the early twentieth-century European travel writing on India. Its value lies not in offering a current travel guide but in presenting a foreign landscape as seen by a European author of a particular era: local customs, people, religious practices, and personal impressions are interwoven, carrying a clear period perspective and the observer's standpoint. Readers should appreciate the visual and narrative appeal of the prose while remaining critical of possible Eurocentric views and stereotypes. This is the original German edition, suited to readers with some German who are interested in travel literature and cross-cultural writing. It is better read as literary and historical material than as an accurate contemporary guide to India.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers with some German who want to read original travel literature
Readers interested in history and literature who want to see how early twentieth-century Europeans wrote about Asia
Students and readers studying travel literature and cross-cultural perspectives
Readers who enjoy leisurely descriptions of places and customs and are willing to look things up as they read

Not a good fit for

General readers with no German who want a Chinese translation
Travelers seeking practical, contemporary information about India
Readers expecting rigorous historical research or a local perspective

Reading tips

Learn about the author's life and the book's era before reading the main text; this makes his standpoint easier to understand.
Mark biased statements as you read, then reflect on the era's limitations afterward.
Read alongside a map or background material on Indian history to reduce confusion over place names and customs.
Do not feel obliged to finish it in one sitting; read it chapter by chapter as a casual travel notebook.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is there a Chinese translation of this book?

This edition is the original German released by Project Gutenberg; the materials show no information about a Chinese translation. If reading German is difficult, look for a translation from another publisher and read it alongside the original.

Is it suitable as a travel guide to India?

No. This is early twentieth-century travel literature reflecting the author's personal experiences and the perspective of his time. It contains no practical information on contemporary transport, accommodation, or visas, and does not represent India today.

What background knowledge is needed to read this book?

Basic German and general world geography are enough to begin. Knowing something about early twentieth-century European-Indian relations, the colonial background, and the tradition of travel writing will make the book's ways of observing and its potential biases easier to understand.

Comments

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About the author

Waldemar Bonsels Author · German · 1880–1952

The German writer Waldemar Bonsels (1880–1952) was born in Ahrensburg and died in Münsing. He is best known for the children's classic The Adventures of Maya the Bee, published in 1912, which won him a wide readership and was translated into many languages and adapted into animation. Beyond children's literature, he wrote novels such as Indienfahrt and Himmelsvolk, whose themes often involve love and nature, with an attention to the natural world and to lived experience. His other works include Eros und die Evangelien, Blut, Norby, and Das Anjekind; nine of his works are held in the library. Overall, Bonsels's writing spans children's stories and narratives on nature and spiritual themes, and among German-language literature his influence endures most through Maya the Bee. Public information is limited, and details of his life and the full range of his work remain to be further examined.