Krishna's Playground

No one but Jack Hawley could have written this book, making full use of his lifetime of deep immersion in Vrindavan, another lifetime of scholarship on the history of Hinduism, and a third as a great translator of the sacred texts of the worship of Krishna. He narrates this complex story with a captivating simplicity and clarity that make the reader see why this story matters so very much to him. -Wendy Doniger, Mircea Eliade Distinguished Service Professor Emerita of the History of Religions, The University of Chicago, USA In this important and fascinating book, Jack Hawley gives us the rare perspective of a lifetime, watching now as Vrindavan ... is overwhelmed with the shock of the new. This beloved place is a particularly poignant test of whether a global future can find a spiritual homeland without making it into a spiritual Disneyland. -Diana L. Eck, Professor of Comparative Religion and Hindu Studies, Director, The Pluralism Project, Harvard University, USA This ambitious work addresses most brilliantly the sea-change that is being visited upon Vrindavan, both as a place and as a religious idea. EL Krishna's Playground will be required reading for anyone interested in religious history, in Bhakti, and in development writ large. -Rupert Snell, Professor Emeritus, Department of Asian Studies, The University of Texas at Austin, USA