River Dog: A Journey Down the Brahmaputra

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.

Amazing book! Most enjoyable reading. We read it as a library borrowing and loved it so much that we wanted to own a copy. We looked everywhere and were so thrilled to find used copies in great condition in Amazon. It took a little longer than we expected but it was well worth the wait.

A lively, often funny, account of trying to traverse a great Asian river. Well written, and a fast read.

I bought River Dog because I am taking a trip on the Brahmaputra River in India and hope to get some insight into my trip.

Delightful. Going to an English friend with whom I have traveled around SE Asia and India.

Excellent condition - good adventurous read - delivered on time -

I did enjoy reading most of this, but found the river a lot less interesting than the dogs featured in the book. I liked the descriptions of the different areas on countries he visited, and the commentary on the political situation/history there.What I didn't like was that some sections seem to talk too much about the difficulty making travel arrangements, which although relevant was pretty dull. You knew all along that he would abandon the dog at the end, but he seemed to find the separation more difficult than the dog did!

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'

Adventure for the sake of it, wonderfully written, and entertainingly enacted.From the stirrings of an idea, the lure of the Indian sub-continent draws the author back to undertake a journey fraught with bureaucracy, traditions and beliefs - but most of all a wonderful array of characters and his trusty mutt of the title.Vividly describing the landscapes through which he traverses and keenly observing some of the more unusual sights, this is a lovely book, instantly immersing the reader into the enthusiasm of the expedition.Boys own adventure.

Gripping and amusing tale of the travels of Mark Shand

A great adventure

Quick service good value

Good service and interesting read