This exciting resource on desert spirituality is quite unlike any other: at once a physical journey to outstanding deserts of the planet and an odyssey of the soul. A journey of discovery takes us across five continents as we venture to places few pilgrims reach: the Gazan desert, the Sahara, the Australian outback, the Athos wilderness and the Ordos Desert of China, and the Syrian desert, among others. Evocative descriptions by early travelers and by the author immerse us into a diversity of wilderness landscapes, stimulating the senses and the imagination. Physicality leads to spirituality as we listen to compelling voices that speak to us poignantly across space and time--including spiritual writers long-forgotten or not well-known. These unearth for us the treasure we seek: we uncover the distinctive charism of each desert, offering us different and challenging ways of looking at the world and at the spiritual life. We discover the unpredictable desert to contain unexpected, priceless treasures of transformative wisdom that speak uncannily into our own contemporary spiritual search. We see how these gems can energize and inspire our discipleship or spiritual practice. As we embark on this spiritual quest, we may never be the same again!

This book is the remarkable true story of Forrest Fenn's life and of a hidden treasure, secreted somewhere in the mountains north of Santa Fe. The book contains clues to the treasure's location as Forrest Fenn invites readers to join in The Thrill of the Chase.

“Daniel Barbarisi plunges into an adventure from another era when he goes in search of buried treasure, guided only by a cryptic poem, a mischievous art collector, and the footsteps another pursuer who died on the quest… Every page draws you deeper into this no-man’s-land where fortune—or tragedy—awaits.” —Christopher McDougall, author of Born to Run When Forrest Fenn was given a fatal cancer diagnosis, he came up with a bold plan: He would hide a chest full of jewels and gold in the wilderness, and publish a poem that would serve as a map leading to the treasure's secret location. But he didn't die, and after hiding the treasure in 2010, Fenn instead presided over a decade-long gold rush that saw many thousands of treasure hunters scrambling across the Rocky Mountains in pursuit of his fortune. Daniel Barbarisi first learned of Fenn's hunt in 2017, when a friend became consumed with decoding the poem and convinced Barbarisi, a reporter, to document his search. What began as an attempt to capture the inner workings of Fenn's hunt quickly turned into a personal quest that led Barbarisi down a reckless and potentially dangerous path, one that found him embroiled in searcher conspiracies and matching wits with Fenn himself. Over the course of four chaotic years, several searchers would die, endless controversies would erupt, and one hunter would ultimately find the chest. But the mystery didn't end there. Full of intrigue, danger, and break-neck action, Chasing the Thrill is a riveting tale of desire, obsession, and unbridled adventure.

Since its establishment as a federally protected wilderness in 1964, the Boundary Waters has become one of our nation's most valuable--and most frequently visited--natural treasures. When Amy and Dave Freeman learned of toxic mining proposed within the area's watershed, they decided to take action--by spending a year in the wilderness, and sharing their experience through video, photos, and blogs with an audience of hundreds of thousands of concerned citizens. This book tells thedeeper story of their adventure in northern Minnesota: of loons whistling under a moonrise, of ice booming as it forms and cracks, of a moose and her calf swimming across a misty lake. With the magic--and urgent--message that has rallied an international audience to the campaign to save the Boundary Waters, A Year in the Wilderness is a rousing cry of witness activism, and a stunning tribute to this singularly beautiful region.

For every day from Shrove Tuesday to Easter Day, the bestselling poet Malcolm Guite chooses a favourite poem from across the Christian spiritual and English literary traditions and offers incisive reflections on it. A scholar of poetry and a renowned poet himself, his knowledge is deep and wide and he offers readers a soul-food feast for Lent.

A celebratory collection of essays and photographs, originally published as part of an effort to preserve Red River Gorge from plans to build a dam and a man-made lake, shares the T. S. Eliot Award-winning writer's perspectives on the gorge's wild beauty and the nature of rivers. Reprint.