6. Kim by Rudyard Kipling

This book has been gathering dust on my on deck shelf ever since it was reviewed by my fine friend writing on the Mount Benson blog. The book is ostensibly about the life of Kim, the orphaned son of an Irish soldier who rises from complete poverty to become a promising young spy in support of Britain's efforts to thwart the Russians. In telling this story, Kipling also provides a colorful and well written description of the different religions, people, and cultures that combine to make India.

For those of you who are interested in colonial history or the Great Game, this book will be very interesting.