Join the author on an adventure which combines travel, history and myth in search of a bell with the Latin inscription: Te Deum Laudamus to unlock the secrets of Shangri-La.

Intro -- Contents -- Preface to the Twentieth Anniversary Edition -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- Chapter One: The Name -- Chapter Two: The Book -- Chapter Three: The Eye -- Chapter Four: The Spell -- Chapter Five: The Art -- Chapter Six: The Field -- Chapter Seven: The Prison -- Notes -- Index

Appealing to the adventure traveler or armchair reader who simply wishes to browse and dream, this guide promises to lead them into the glorious reality and breathtaking landscapes of the Himalayas.

An old joke tells of a Jewish woman who treks to the Himalayas to seek an audience with a guru sitting in seclusion on a mountaintop. When at last she comes before him, she implores: "Sheldon, come home!" Rosie Rosenzweig became that Jewish mother—but in real life, the story has a different ending. Instead of asking her Buddhist son, Ben, to come home, Rosie accepts his invitation to find out about Buddhism firsthand. Together they visit retreat centers in Europe and Asia and meet leading meditation masters who are Ben's gurus: Vietnamese teacher Thich Nhat Hanh and Tibetan lamas Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche and Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche. While struggling to come to terms with Ben's choice of a spiritual path so different from everything that she cherishes, Rosie finds that she is learning more about herself than she anticipated. The adventures of Rosie recounts take her from her Boston suburb to a Zen hermitage in France, an enclave of Tibetan Buddhists in Nepal, and finally to her own spiritual home in Jerusalem. Whether she is practicing mindfulness meditation, sharing a cup of tea with a Zen master, or worrying about bowing down to idols, Rosie is intent in her quest to find common ground between two ancient traditions, to deepen her understanding of her son, and to find a way to her own authentic experience of truth. Hers is a mission of peace that seeks to build a bridge of understanding between cultures and faiths while remaining true to her own Jewish identity.

"Bishop's engrossing and readable account provides us with a fascinating picture of European myths concerning the Land of the Snows and of the role these myths played in shaping perceptions of the Orient. Bishop's riveting portrait of European conceptions is an important and exceptionally well written contribution to an understanding of Western attitudes toward Tibet and all of East Asia."--Morris Rossabi, author of Khubilai Khan: His Life and Times

As seen in the New York Times and on Good Morning America-now updated by the author. Imagine a diet that's as easy as "a spoonful of sugar" (or extra-light olive oil) twice a day. A diet that actually reduces appetite and cravings. A diet that's based on a wealth of scientific findings but is simple enough for anyone to stick to. A diet with results that amaze almost everyone who tries it. Psychology professor Seth Roberts asks a simple question most weight-loss experts haven't thought to tackle: What makes people hungry? Based on a new understanding of how the human body regulates hunger, The Shangri-La Diet presents a strikingly simple and surprisingly effective way to lose weight-without giving up favorite foods. Simple and counterintuitive, this extraordinary new diet is changing the way the world thinks about weight loss-one success story at a time.

Perfect for fans of Nelson DeMille and Daniel Silva Ex-Israeli operative turned private investigator, Dotan Naor—to settle a bet—agrees to locate the missing son of former acquaintance, now ruthless Israeli arms merchant, Willy Mizrachi. Willy, who does not hesitate to sell killing machines to the most heinous players in the world, is desperate to find his only son, Itiel, who has headed to an ashram in the Himalayas. The Himalayas are also host to groups of young Israelis who have completed their mandatory military service—a sort of rite of passage. Now, those innocent kids are being hunted down by violent terrorists. India and the disputed Kashmir region between India and Pakistan is familiar territory to Dotan, as he searches for Itiel and for the source of these heinous attacks on Israeli youth. Unwilling to leave this quest in the hands of Dotan, Willy also travels to India, where he is murdered in Delhi, triggering international repercussions capable of ripping the world apart at one of its most dangerous flashpoints. Nothing is as it seems in this region of the world. Betrayal reigns everywhere. But love, in its purest form, does manage to shine through in this story of brutal international corruption.