Quest for Kim: In Search of Kipling's Great Game

The Kindle Edition of Rudyard Kipling's  Kim  has several things to recommend it.First, it is based on a good critical text,* with a glossary compiled from several previous editions.Second, there are hyperlinks to each chapter, so that if you go back to the beginning of the book and know what chapter you were reading, you can keep track of the book.Third, the editors sought out and included Lockwood Kipling's bas relief renderings of the characters in Kim</>. Kipling's father Lockwood was (a) the curator of the museum in Lahor in front of which stood the gun ZamZammah, and (b) lived in Lahor -- then India, now Pakistan -- as until about the same time as Kipling himself, and (c) was a noted artist. As difficult as it is to decipher the bas reliefs, they can be trusted to capture the characters as described by Rudyard Kipling.Also, the edition is carefully rendered into Kindle format, with hyperlinks to each chapter, and hyperlinks to words in the glossary, as well as navigation links back to where one first encountered the word.I give it a 4.5 rating as to aids for the reader, because there *is* a glossary, but there is no index with links to the glossary words, nor a map of the (small) area in which the story takes place. I am not sure there is an equally good print edition of Kim,In summary, the Kindle Edition of Kim provides a good text, authoritative illustrations, and an expanded glossary, but no index or map.*Concerning the "critical text" on which this edition of Kim is based, "The text of this edition has been carefully proofed against several different editions, but is chiefly based on the 'Sussex' edition. In cases where the editions differed, the wording of the later edition has been used, unless it was clearly a misprint. The illustrations and title page are taken from the 1912 printing of the 1908 Macmillan pocket edition. The frontispiece photograph is from the Kipling Archive at the University of Sussex."Unfortunately this excellent preparation of the text of Kim is no longer available in hardcover or softcover edition, only in the Kindle edition, or possibly other electronic editions. It would be my choice for a classroom edition. Maybe it's not possible to rescue Kipling, but perhaps it's possible better to understand the Indian, Pakistani, and British experience of the Jewel of the Crown, in the 19th and early 20th centuries. To do so, as a classroom experience, this preparation of the text is recommended. I can't quite recommend that every member of the class own a Kindle, though Kindle editions on PC and other formats would probably be sufficiently available for classroom use.** "The text is by Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936), and the illustrations are photographs of clay reliefs by J. Lockwood Kipling (1837-1911), Rudyard Kipling's father. The frontispiece photograph is of Rudyard Kipling and J. Lockwood Kipling, taken around 1880."*** "The additional glossary entries are original to this edition and are copyright (c) 2010 Paul Durrant."[...]

Bottom Line: Paperback edition of The Quest for Kim by Peter Hopkirk is an easy read but not up to his standard. Author and Historian Peter Hopkirk is one of the best resources for topics related to the Great Game. In the Quest for Kim he steps away from being a historian of the British Raj and indulges his passion for the eponymous novel. His assumption is that you share his opinion of Kim and his interest in identifying the original people and places that inspired Kipling. This is a rewarding read for fans of  Kim (Illustrated edition)  less so for fans of Rudyard Kipling and at best a maybe for a traveler into India and or Pakistan looking for a unique travel guide or vacation theme. Much of this border area is not safe such that Hopkirk could not follow his original travel plans.Professor Hopkirk is attempting to honor a favorite book. His original goal was to retrace the route of the fictional character and while doing so to revel the historic people behind the characters and tell us where to go to find the specific locations mentioned in the novel.Some of these goals are fairly easy. Citing two examples from early in the book, Kipling’s father was the curator of the museum in Lahore where the book opens. After this obvious identification, Hopkirk uses his scholarship and his luck to determine that the modern location for the Wonder House is not the same as the one known to Kipling via his father. Later identifications will prove impossible or left to conjecture.In between there is a lot of ruminations on the slaughter that accompanied the independence of India from the British and the concurrent partition of the colony into the nations of India and Pakistan. When not discussion this bloody period and the continuing suspicions and violence between these neighbors, Hopkirk distracts us with his over enthusiasm for this novel.The result is a book with fewer and lessor discoveries than might be expected and too much insistence that the Kipling novel is better than it is. The reader does get some interesting ideas for a tour of lessor known tourist destinations in the sub-continent, and some warnings about where it remains unsafe.

That it is at times overly speculative is the only hard criticism I can offer on Hopkirk's work. It is otherwise deep and enjoyable, yet somehow unsatisfying. Perhaps the weaknesses are inevitable given the task: that of following a work of fiction. But the finest delight of this book comes from sharing a love for Kipling's _Kim_. Kim lovers will rejoice. Others may enjoy a unique glimpse at these parts of India. Still others, who have yet to encounter Kipling's work, may find here a joyous introduction.

I recently had the pleasure of re-reading "Kim", having just visited Kipling's splendid mansion in East Sussex.It must be something like 40 years or more since I read it last - and it was still thrilling.I came across this book which purports to research the background to the places and characters of Kim - starting with the great cannon "Zam Zammah". It is mostly an account of the author's journey, following the path taken by Kin and his lama as they travel along the Great Trunk Road in search of mythical river (and secretly participate in the Great Game.There are lots of interesting anecdotes, and occasional discoveries - and much guesswork.I really enjoyed the book, although it didn't discover as much as I had hoped.

The author went to India and Pakistan hunting for the real-life sources of ‘Kim’. Some he found; many more have disappeared through time or were the fruits of Kipling’s imagination. Whilst this book will not blunt the delights of ‘Kim’, neither will it add greatly to them.

Written by an authority on kim who has tried to walk in Kim's foot footsteps and has done a marvellous job of it considering the one hundred and thirty years later and a very much changed and better India.

Something of a disappointment, unfortunately. It contains a lot of useful background material and is great for learning the political context of the story and the context of Kipling's own life. I'm giving it four stars (60-80%) because it's well-researched and well-written and the material is generally interesting. But there's too much of the author talking about himself and his own activities. Worst of all, there's not a single map showing any part of Kim's travels! He seems to assume that you know where things are despite the fact that many of the names have changed. He also dwells rather longer on the horrors of Partition than is necessary considering that it took place long after the events of Kim and long before the present day.A good book to have if you are a Kim fan, but definitely not the only one you need.

Since I learned to read (now 76) I have enjoyed reading Kipling. This book is well written, well researched and well proof-read. Peter Hopkirk knows and loves his subject. I shall reread Kim with increased understanding and renewed pleasure.