Geography reading list

Atlases

• Bartholomew, John

Constable's hand atlas of India, prepared under the direction of J. G. Bartholomew. Westminster: A. Constable, 1893

This excellent old atlas with 60 clear coloured maps and plans is available in a number of research libraries around the world. Ian Poyntz has made the area maps available on Rootsweb. The index is also available and it is a good starting point as it makes pinpointing the required location so much easier. Problems that variant spellings of place names cause can often be overcome by browsing the index.

Gazetteers

• The Imperial gazetteer of India, by Sir William Stevenson Meyer et al. New ed. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1908-1931

This authoritative and exhaustive 26 volume work is available online where it can be both browsed or searched. The first four volumes provide an official description of the Indian Empire, its history, economy and administration. The final volume is an atlas and The Digital Library of South Asia's online version of the Gazetteer helpfully gives both the 1909 and 1931 editions of this. In the intermediary volumes is an alphabetical arrangement of the places in the Indian Empire including cities, towns, villages and forts, rivers, mountains and regions. The information provided includes the place's location and status, together with any relevant details such as population, ethnic makeup, languages spoken, geographical features, natural resources, agriculture, industries, economics, schools, hospitals, history and notable features. The descriptions are often lively. A wonderful resource.