Nicholas Roerich, with his huge and versatile talent, is one of the most interesting creative minds of the early 20th century. He was born in Saint Petersburg in 1874 and died in Kulu Valley (India) in 1947. After studying law and attending the Academy of Art, Nicholas Roerich developed a passionate interest in archaeology, a contribution that was acknowledged when he became a lecturer at the Russian Archaeological Society in 1900. His extensive travels in Europe, Russia, Asia and especially India were a source of inspiration wholly original and unique (for more than 7000 paintings). Roerich was also the author of the Pact which bears his name and which was designed to protect the cultural heritage in time of war. Moreover, he wrote numerous books and collections of poetry.

Record of legends and parables of Central Asia and Tibet.

Nikolai Roerich was born on October 9th, 1874 in Saint-Petersburg. After studying law and attending the Academy of Art, Roerich developed a passionate interest in archaeology, his contribution to which was acknowledged when he became a lecturer at the Russian Archaeological Society in 1900. His extensive travels in Europe, Russia, Asia, and especially India were a source of inspiration wholly original and unique. The prolific creator of over 7000 paintings, Roerich belonged to the great creative art movement which took place in Russia before the Bolshevik revolution. Besides his enormous artistic talent, Roerich was the author of the Pact which bears his name and which was designed to protect the cultural heritage in time of war. After living a very full life, he died in the Kulu valley in India in 1947. Recognized in 1923, there is a museum in New York devoted to him. He wrote numerous books and collections of poetry, and contributed to artistic and archaeological journals. Roerich, with his huge and versatile talent, is one of the most interesting creative minds of the early 20th century. Some fine examples of his art are to be found in ""La Balance"" and ""Loukomori"" in the 1905 work of M. Maeterlinck, in stage sets for Rimsky Korsakov's Snegurochka, Paris 1909, and in sets and costumes for Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, 1910-1921.

Nicholas Roerich's classic 1929 mystic travel book is back in print! He kept a diary of his travels by yak and camel through a remote region still largely unknown today. An intellectual as well as an adventurer, he chronicles his expedition through Sinkiang, Altai-Mongolia and Tibet from 1924 to 1928 in twelve exciting chapters detailing his encounters along the parched byways of Central Asia. With a special interest in geographical mysteries and arcane and mystical arts, he searches for the hidden cities of Shambala and Agartha. Roerich's original drawings, as well as reproductions of his inspiring paintings illustrate this unique travel book.

Roerich recounts his journeys to more than fifty monasteries and his meetings with lamas eager to share their spiritual insights and heritage with the Western world. His expeditions crossed thirty-five mountain passes, and included here are dramatic descriptions of snow blindness, mountain floods, and mysterious electrical phenomena, as well as intimate depictions of daily life in the rigorous yet beautiful Himalayan environment.

In her latest title, Ruth Drayer provides a factual account of the two Russian visionaries who believed beauty could solve the world's problems and unify humanity. Partners in all things, charismatic Nicholas (1874-1947) was an internationally acclaimed artist, author, daring explorer, conservationist, archeologist, humanitarian and peacemaker, while his wife, Helena (1879 - 1955), was a teacher and healer as well as the inspired co-author of the 'Agni Yoga' series. This is the first book in English to interweave the Agni Yoga writings and the Roerichs' relationship with their spiritual teacher in with their fascinating travels, disclosing the long-hidden story of the Roerichs' connection with Tibetan Buddhism. Though it may read like a tale, Drayer takes us on the real-life adventures of the Roerichs as they travel to the most remote and dangerous regions of India, China, Mongolia, the Gobi, Tibet and Siberia. We bear witness as the couple flees the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 Russia and as they arrive in New York City in the fall of 1920 where they later founded the first school that teaches all of the arts under one roof. We experience their trials and tribulations as the Roerichs trek through the following years.