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River Dog: A Journey Along the Brahmaputra | 
 enlarge | Author: Mark Shand
Publisher: Little Brown UK
Category: Book
List Price: $30.00
Buy New: $22.80
You Save: $7.20 (24%)
New (2) Used (3) from $8.75
Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 2942844
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 384
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.5
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.4
ISBN: 0316860352
Dewey Decimal Number: 915.4160452
EAN: 9780316860352
ASIN: 0316860352
Publication Date: March 2002
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Product Description
The Brahmaputra is one of the world's great rivers. Beginning as a tiny glacial stream in Western Tibet it flows through India and Bangladesh before gushing out into the Bay of Bengal. Unable to reach the northern part of the river due to Chinese intransigence, Mark Shand nonetheless set out to attempt what no foreigner had ever done: complete the huge journey from the unexplored jungles of the Indo-Tibet border to the largest river delta in the world. "River Dog" is a chronicle of that journey, a story encompassing sublime landscapes - in Assam where the River begins to broaden into its full majesty - and rather odd encounters - including a bizarre group of identical-looking gay monks in Majuli (the largest river island in the world). But it is also a celebration - of a river that flows with mystery and legend, the men who have set out to discover it and a rather charming canine travelling companion called Bhaiti.
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| Customer Reviews:
Yes, it is a book about a dog February 9, 2008
I had high hopes for 'River Dog' as the Brahmaputra is a unique wonder of a river, but this is more of a personal diary than a travel log. We get to know a bit about the adventurous Mr. Shands and his new dog Bhaiti. Hints of the troubled history of India's eastern states peek through, but there's disappointingly little that describes the role the river played. And Mr. Shands is admittedly not taken with Bangladesh, so while it's almost half of the distance he traveled, the Bangladesh part of his journey gets about 10% of the pages.
It's far from a waste of time, though. It's a fast read and it opened my eyes to this incredible river. The first part of his adventure as he joins a hunt for Shangri La is edgy and exciting, and we get a great feel for the roots of this river at the top of the world.
But after that we need to wade through altogether too much material about his new pooch. Clearly, the dog had a great time on this trip. As for us, we do get glimpses of the river and snippets of quotes from some early British explorers. And we have several detailed descriptions on how to deal with government administrators. But while we learn that eastern India is a disputed area, we don't get a lot of insight beyond that. He mentions in passing, for example, that the Chinese army had made its way far into what is now India. This must have some kind of residual impact on the people who live there now. But we wouldn't know that through this work. We also get bits of Hindu culture that flow throughout as he occasionally mentions a religious foundation to what is driving actions for his fellow travelers and himself. It's hard to tell for this novice, though, how much of this is real and how much is just for fun. When he, for example, encourages his friend to help him find a pet by envoking a heritage of dog worship. Sure this was funny. But it's hard to tell if there was any real foundation.
So River Dog is a fun fast read, and it relays a touch of cultural insight while you learn a bit about this incredible river as it roams through eastern India. Just don't pick it up if you're looking to learn anything about Bangladesh.
 Too self involved August 13, 2005
I found the main observations in this book fairly interestering. But overall I found his attitude to the locals fairly arrongant unless they happened to help his journey. If you read the book them you will otice a few pieces of information don't check out e.g. the first cane bridge that he walks on and falls through he describes the pieces of wood being 30 cm apart, however in the picture in the book you can clearly see in the photos taken by himself that the only space close to that is the hole he fell done the rest were closer to 10 cm. To be honest this book has stirred an interest in this genre but I will be looking for books by a open minded writer, unlike Mark Shand.
 'one man and his dog' May 6, 2004
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I found 'River Dog' to be a touching moving and at times quite funny travelouge. It could be easily argued that the main focus of the book is not shand himself but rather his adorable companion, bhaiti , the hunting dog. This loveable mutt, which amazingly turns out to be an ancient pedigree breed is initially rescued from the back streets of india and is then launched on an amazing journey with shand both hiking and sailing down the mighty brahmaputra river. The dog repays shand by literally saving him from a horned viper. shand then has an extensive opium fuelled conversation with bhaiti which the author notes, quite rightly, as being....really weird!Shand is an effortless travel writer, transporting your imagination to bamboo forests, sacred mountains and gentle currents with consumate ease. The various characters that he introduces soon feel like your best friends. Gamma the permanently stoned captain of the riverboat is a real stand out, and the entire journey comes across as a boys own adventure. You can actually find yourself reminiscing about the epic trek even though you weren't really there. And finally does anyone know where I can buy one of those indian hunting dogs. I really want one. you will too after you read 'river dog'
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