In Inside Nepal, Jeevnathan, head of the Eastern Service Bureau (ESB) of India's external intelligence agency, has been charged by the Agency's headquarters with overseeing the closure of the Bureau. In the shadowy world of intelligence operations, the line between right and wrong, good and bad can often become blurred. Presented with the opportunity to redeem the Bureau, Jeevnathan launches a series of audacious operations aimed at securing India's interests vis-a-vis Nepal. In The Walk-In, Jeevnathan, head of the Dhaka unit of India's external intelligence agency, is taken completely by surprise when a young man walks boldly into his office and declares his intention of serving as a source for Jeevnathan. Espionage is a risky business and sources are recruited with great care to minimize the risk of exposure. Is he a mole? Yet he never pushs Jeevnathan for sensitive information. Is he in it for the money? Yet he has never demanded any. So who and what is he, and why was he so keen on helping Jeevnathan? Soon to be a major motion picture by Vishal Bhardwaj, this double-bill of pacey thrillers highlighting the exploits of India's intelligence agency will have your pulse racing.

What does it mean to bring progress—schools, electricity, roads, running water—to paradise? Can our consumer culture and desire to “do good” really be good for a community that has survived contentedly for centuries without us? In October 2008, climbing expedition leader and attorney, Jeffrey Rasley, led a trek to a village in a remote valley in the Solu region of Nepal named Basa. His group of three adventurers was only the third group of white people ever seen in this village of subsistence farmers. What he found was a people thoroughly unaffected by Western consumer-culture values. They had no running water, electricity, or anything that moves on wheels. Each family lived in a beautiful, hand-chiseled stone house with a flower garden. Beyond what they already had, it seemed all they wanted was education for the children. He helped them finish a school building already in progress, and then they asked for help getting electricity to their village. Bringing Progress to Paradise describes Rasley’s transformation from adventurer to committed philanthropist. We are attracted to the simpler way of life in these communities, and we are changed by our experience of it. They are attracted to us, because we bring economic benefits. Bringing Progress to Paradise offers Rasley’s critical reflection on the tangled relationship between tourists and locals in “exotic” locales and the effect of Western values on some of the most remote locations on earth.

Includes Simon & Schuster reading group guide.

Rory Stewart recounts the experiences he had walking across Afghanistan in 2002, describing how the country and its people have been impacted by the Taliban and the American military's involvement in the region.

Body and Emotion is a study of the relationship between culture and emotional distress, an examination of the cultural forces that influence, make sense of, and heal severe pain and malaise. In order to investigate this relationship, Robert R. Desjarlais served as an apprentice healer among the Yolmo Sherpa, a Tibetan Buddhist people who reside in the Helambu region of north-central Nepal.

In The Zero-Cost Mission, India's relations with Bangladesh are undermined by the activities of the Jamaat-e-Islami, whose camps and facilities are being used to help Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence, which sends its agents to carry out acts of terror in India. Vijay Shukla, in charge of Bangladesh operations at India's external intelligence agency, has a plan - a daring one, and one that requires utmost secrecy, lest word gets out that India is interfering in Bangladesh's internal affairs. Only a certain type of operative can be entrusted with its execution. One with remarkable operational abilities, a taste for challenges and a certain disregard for authority. Vijay Shukla assigns Sujal Rath to orchestrate the destruction of several Jamaat facilities deep within Bangladesh, pulling off a mission that not only seems impossible but which runs the risk of being derailed by the agency itself.Soon to be a major motion picture by Vishal Bhardwaj, this double-bill of pacey thrillers highlighting the exploits of India's intelligence agency will have your pulse racing.The Wily Agent details the pitfalls of gathering intelligence in a foreign country, a delicate and complex business. A good source, however, can make the risks worthwhile. So, when Jeevnathan, head of the Dhaka unit of India's external intelligence agency, is introduced to 'Rehman', he decides to test him to determine if he has the potential to become a valuable long-term asset. As an employee of the Bangladesh Foreign Office, Rehman is well placed to gather sensitive information that would be of great interest to India. Rehman proves to be a hard nut to crack, taking his handlers on a rollercoaster ride through the murky world of intelligence gathering, keeping them on edge, testing their operational skill and nerves as they all play the high-stakes game of espionage.Soon to be a major motion picture by Vishal Bhardwaj, this double-bill of pacey thrillers highlighting the exploits of India's intelligence agency will have your pulse racing.