Dimensions
128 x 198 x 15mm
Whether at the source of the Ganges in the snowy crags of the Himalayas, in the lawless lands the Buddha once wandered through, or struggling with the chaos, commercialism and hostility of Jerusalem, Nicholas Shrady's journeys took him to places with significance beyond their history or physical splendour: the end-points of pilgrim trails, travelled by those seeking answers to questions that have dogged humanity for millennia. Following these paths he encountered life lived at its extremes: the exploited and the ascetic, the venal and the venerated, real charity and genuine malice. This absorbing account of his travels reveals the enduring appeal of the search for the spiritual made physical, the problems of finding inner peace on journeys which are as full of complex, everyday life as they are of ancient significance, and unexpected insights and adventures encountered on the way.
'An ambitious undertaking... there is much here that is fascinating, and his pocket histories of the world religions are immaculate'
Edward Marriott, The Times