Synopsis For many years the need has been felt for a comprehensive book on the Ranas of Nepal. These pictures provide a valuable socio-historical record of an age that has disappeared, but has left its indelible imprint upon Nepal. To go through this sumptuously produced and lavishly illustrated volume is to take a journey into the past, and yet the book is not merely an exercise in nostalgia. It provides rich background for the history and culture of the beautiful Kingdom of Nepal, its marvelous Hindu and Buddhist shrines, its art and architecture, its varied cuisine, costumes and customs. Thoughtful essays by the three authors combine scholarship and reflect their personal interaction with the varied Nepal experience…….