The story of a unique journey - a circumnavigation of the earth via the belt of deserts which make up one fifth of its landmass.

Myth, travelogue and holy writ, the Ramayana - the Journey of Rama - is India's best-loved book, an inspiration to schoolchildren, monks and movie-makers. It's one of the world's great epic tales, yet is largely unread in the Western world. The story of a man searching savage jungles for his kidnapped wife, the Ramayana combines Heart of Darkness with the Odyssey. And bizarrely, this violent and erotic account of a war between light and dark is at the heart of the fiercest controversy in contemporary Indian politics - one that has claimed over 10,000 lives. When Martin Buckley first encountered the Ramayana twenty-five years ago, it became a guide to the complexities of Indian life. Here, he fulfils a dream - to retrace the route of Rama from his birthplace in north India to the climax of his confrontation with Evil, in Sri Lanka Buckley finds that the epic is as much a key to understanding India today as it was 3,000 years ago. Some historians have recast the fight between the hero and a race of dark-skinned demons as a colonial war, waged by Aryan invaders against indigenous Indians. Incredibly, it is echoed today in the brutal civil war being fought in the jungles of Sri Lanka. At the same time, the God-King Rama inspires spiritual devotions of a kind almost unimaginable in the West. An Indian Odyssey is the story of an adventurous and sometimes perilous passage through India by motorbike, microlight, bus and train. In the course of his own odyssey - physical and spiritual - Buckley witnesses death on the chaotic Great Trunk Road and passes through a war zone in Sri Lanka where bicycle bombs are the weapon of choice. A cast of mystics and Marxists, idealists and cynics - Hindu, Muslim and Buddhist - lays out the rich fabric of contemporary India and Sri Lanka, illuminated by the remarkable story of their past - and the quest of a man to rescue the woman he loves.

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In this age of sleek 500-seat transglobal airliners, what remains of the mystery and romance of flight? Martin Buckley circumnavigated the world in a whole series of mostly small aircraft, flying by some of the oldest and strangest planes still in use to some of the remotest places on earth - places where flying is almost the only transport option; and to meet some of the oldest surviving pilots, as well as contemporary pilots who still fly by the seat of their pants. Some years ago Martin discovered that with a qualified pilot's license you can sometimes 'hitch-hike' in the co-pilot's seat (pilots like it, plane owners and insurance companies like it, and customs officials are usually well-disposed). He decided that the subject of his next book would be to try and hitch hike around the world by plane.

Jaguar Martin BuckleySubtitled: Fifty Years of Speed and Style. A brief historical overview of Jaguar is complemented by an authoritative analysis of the cars themselves - Jaguar saloons, sports cars and GTs - from the MkV through the XK8. Includes coverage of: MkV; MkVII; MkVIII; MkIX; 42G; MkI; MkII; 24/34; S-type; 42; XJ6 Series I, II, III and XJ4; XK12, XK14, XK15, E-type Series I, II and III V12, XJ-S and XK8. Filled with personal impressions of the models and helpful buying tips. Stunning! Hdbd., 8 1/4"x 1 1/2", 16 pgs., 44 b&w ill., 81 color.

Launched in 1967, the NSU Ro80 had modern aerodynamic styling, a technologically advanced Wankel rotary engine and was voted Car of the Year in 1968. However, after the initial positive reception, the car developed a reputation for unreliability, with problems arising as early as 15,000 miles and many vehicles required a rebuilt engine before 30,000 miles. Despite the company resolving these reliability issues in both existing and new vehicles, and offering a generous warranty, the damage to the car's reputation was done. The NSU Ro80 is the most celebrated motoring lost cause of the second half of the twentieth century, outranking the likes of the Edsel and the DeLorean because, unlike those statements of misplaced optimism and ego, it was a good car. Not just good: the NSU Ro80 is one of the great saloons. Launched in September 1967, the Ro80 was an all-new four-door five-seater from a West German company that – post-war – had never made anything other than economy runabouts, motorcycles and mopeds. That alone should have been enough of a risk, but this was also the world's first purpose-built Wankel-engined family saloon. This compact, refined and elegantly simple power unit was the first really new concept in the realm of internal combustion engines to achieve mass production for ninety years. A car like the Ro80 could only really have come from Germany, where there was a passion for research and a pride in engineering not found elsewhere in Europe. With front-wheel drive, superb power steering and four-wheel disc brakes, the car had top handling and driver appeal. Quite simply, it was a masterpiece, considered by many to be the finest vehicle of its type in the world. But with one fatal flaw: its engine. With over 300 archive photographs, drawings and diagrams, this book tells the story of the NSU

Which British aristocrat left a Ford Corsair near the cliffs of Dover with a blood-stained lead pipe in the boot? Remember what Grace Kelly was driving when she went over the edge in Monaco? This fascinating collection brings together the best, and worst, of a century of automotive Babylon·the true stories of times when cars, celebrities, bad luck (or bad driving) literally collide. From Marc Bolan¦s encounter with a tree in Barnes in his Mini Cooper to Hitler¦s love of making decisions in his Mercedes, Stars, Cars and Infamy describes all the most celebrated events where cars have taken a starring role. These stories combine tragedy, comedy, and the just plain bizarre, but all make fascinating and entertaining reading.

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Published on the 50th anniversary of the launch of the Fiat 130. The story of a misunderstood modern classic car that set new standards.

For much of its existence Maserati has remained in the shadow of Ferrari, its near neighbor in Modena, Italy. Little of worth has been published about the marque, but now Martin Buckley, a dedicated Maserati fan, puts that right with this detailed, colorful, passionate review of Maserati’s production cars.