In Land of the Tiger, Valmik Thapar explores the natural history of this extraordinarily diverse region marked by dramatic extremes of climate and terrain, the only place in the world where both lions and tigers reside.

After a lifetime devoted to the study and conservation of the tiger, Thapar turns to the immense task of documenting the diversity and beauty of the species of plants and animals that share the tiger's domain. He asks how so many species have managed to survive on such a crowded continent, where 20 percent of the world's population exerts an intense pressure on the environment.

Thapar links the reverence shown to nature by Eastern religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, to the tremendous diversity that remains on the subcontinent today. Fifty years after Indian independence, however, modern and urban values are beginning to destroy the subcontinent's ecosystems.