Few places in the world stir the imagination quite like India. At a time when so much of the world seems to be blending into each other, India remains vivid and distinct.

That's why it's a real pleasure that our latest selection for Just Booked (our twice-monthly showcase for travel-related coffee-table books) is Photography in India: A Visual History from the 1850s to the Present by Nathaniel Gaskell and Diva Gujral.

As the book notes, the camera made its way to India just a few months after its invention. Since its arrival, this tumultuous, teeming, and complex land has been documented by countless photographers. This book, however, is mesmerizing, hopping from centuries-old photos of the Himalayan mountains to hand-colored calotypes of lush palace gardens. There are dramatic photos of the horror of the partition and fascinating glimpses of 1980s Mumbai nightlife, as well as work by many of the country's best contemporary photographers. Transportive is a word often used for travel photography, but in this book the photos don't just transport readers to another place, they also transport them to a dramatically different culture in a dramatically different time.

Photography in India: A Visual History from the 1850s to the Present by Nathaniel Gaskell and Diva Gujral. Published by Prestel. (On Amazon for $44.19)