Cause; a murder in Los Angeles. Effect; A summons from the Grand Regent. Jake Striker felt he needed to return to Mongolia to tell his in-laws how their daughter died. His wife, Chandaa, was killed by a drunk driver who ran a red light. The 911 Porsche was broadsided and his wife died instantly at an intersection in Beverly Hills. She had been with him when he finally located the mysterious Chang Jai Lamasery, high on Mt. Bayaskhulangtu. They had been searching for a child that was born at the exact instant the ancient Chang Lai Lama died. The Lamas believed the child was the reincarnation of their revered Grand Lama and were returning him to his rightful home. The parents of the child saw it as kidnapping. Chandaa’s parents live far out on the rolling steppes, where only personal communication is possible. Jake is tall, six feet, three inches, handsome with light brown hair and storm gray eyes. He had originally been hired by the parents to locate their child. Now he is back in Mongolia, comforting grieving in-laws. Chanda’s sister, Mei, a stunningly beautiful Mongolian woman, with Chinese ancestors, is with Jake in her parent’s ger when Lama Namsray arrives and tells Jake that the Grand Regent is in need of his services. Contacting the Grand Regent will require an arduous trek by horseback up into the sacred mountains, where only a privileged few are permitted. A steppe soldier is traveling with Lama Namsray, to protect him; armed with an AK47. Jake is a policeman turned lawyer and has the ear of the Grand Regent. One of the young men who was born in the mysterious valley has gone rogue and become a drug dealer and murderer in Southern California. He needs to be stopped and the Grand Regent is about to give Jake the assignment. Mei, who is twenty-five, with almond eyes and raven hair that hangs to her waist, informs Jake and Lama Namsray that she is going with them. The Lama tells her that will be impossible, outsiders are not allowed into the secret Lamasery. She informs him, “I’m going.” Lama Namsray, the second most powerful lama in the sacred dzong, explains that the Grand Regent would never permit it. Mei says, “I know about the gold mine, I know about the child Grand Lama and I know about the secret entrance into the valley. I’m going.” Jake sides with Mei and she accompanies him on the dangerous journey into the mountains. She also accompanies him to Southern California where they do battle with the drug lord and his thugs. Events become so dangerous they have to call upon the ancient Order of the Tu Tung. A mysterious Lamasery, a handsome lawyer, a beautiful Mongolian woman and a clandestine order of assassins, wrapped tightly together with dragon-emblazoned fabric from the Great Silk Road.

IN SEARCH OF HER AYAH is a story of shifting emotions and responses -- lust and desire; betrayal and revenge; mystery and adventure; and love and trust -- as told through the eyes and the strokes of a paint brush of four individuals with vastly different backgrounds and perspectives. This sad and happy story is played out across the world: from the tranquil remnants of a once bustling town on the coast of Oregon, to the peaceful beauty and charm of Victoria, in the steaming heat and poverty of India, in the metaphysical world of the wonders and magic and tragedy of Tibet, in the towering Himalayas, and finally in a transplanted French chateau near Portland. "Although the main characters of Tom Morison's epic novel are fictional, they could have lived. The Oregon village of Beaver is a composite of existing coastal towns with their boisterous past. The poor throngs of India are all too real -- drivers do play chicken on the narrow roads. There is a little temple high above Gangtok where once a Buddhist artist painted wild and beautiful scenes on the interior's walls. And the tragic story of Tibet is all too well known. IN SEARCH OF HER AYAH rings true." -- Bruce Batchelor, publisher About the Author Tom Morison is an economist by training, receiving a doctorate degree from Franz Joseph University in Innsbruck, Austria. He was an investor by occupation, but his real love is writing about and painting the images from a life of travel and adventure around the world. He has written three previous books: POUNCE, a financial satire; THE GATE OF MISTS, a climbing mystery; and 13.2, a parody on aging. And now, IN SEARCH OF HER AYAH.

At age 16 Chris Kopczynski carved the words “Everest/Eiger” into the handle of his ice axe, marking his goal to climb the two mountains known as the "highest and the hardest." He accomplished that goal by the age of 33, becoming the ninth American to summit Everest and the first American to summit both the North Face of the Eiger and Mt. Everest. With the climbing addiction in his blood, he set new goals and became the twelfth in the world to climb the highest peaks on seven continents. Chris’ lifelong odyssey to the top of the world includes the climbs, attempts and summits of every continent’s highest, hardest, and most significant mountains. He gives readers stories of perseverance and survival as he achieved his dreams on Robson in the Canadian Rockies, Chimney Rock in Idaho, the Pamirs and Elbrus in the USSR, Denali in Alaska, Makalu in Nepal, Antarctica’s Vinson, Chile’s Aconcagua, Kosciuszko in Australia, and Africa’s Kilimanjaro.

The town is small, so the carnival that comes every year is usually small, with a small Ferris wheel and a small merry-go-round. But this year’s carnival has a huge merry-go-round, with six horses in a row, rather than three. The merry-go-round looks brand new, with immaculate fixtures: Flawless horses, some rearing, others snorting, still other racing with flying manes. The brass is polished and the mirrors are sparkling clean. Every child, and many young people, want to ride on the fabulous merry-go-round. People, young and old, buy tickets and get in line to get on the merry go round…never knowing that none of them will ever get off….

CLICK HERE to download the first chapter from Freedom Climbers (Provide us with a little information and we'll send your download directly to your inbox) "One of the most important mountaineering books to be written for many years." —Boardman-Tasker Prize See this book trailer for Freedom Climbers made by RMB Books, its publisher in Canada, where the cover is slightly different from the Mountaineers Books U.S. edition * Behind the Iron Curtain, Cold War mountaineers found freedom on the world's highest peaks—and paid an awful price to achieve it * Winner of the Boardman-Tasker Prize, Banff Grand Prize, and American Alpine Club Literary Award Freedom Climbers tells the story of Poland's truly remarkable mountaineers who dominated Himalayan climbing during the period between the end of World War II and the start of the new millennium. The emphasis here is on their "golden age" in the 1980s and 1990s when, despite the economic and social baggage of their struggling country, Polish climbers were the first to tackle the world's highest mountains during winter, including the first winter ascents on seven of the world's fourteen 8000-meter peaks: Everest, Manaslu, Dhaulagiri, Cho Oyu, Kanchenjunga, Annapurna, and Lhotse. Such successes, however, came at a serious cost: 80 percent of Poland's finest high-altitude climbers died on the high mountains during the same period they were pursuing these first ascents. Award-winning writer Bernadette McDonald addresses the social, political, and cultural context of this golden age, and the hardships of life under Soviet rule. Polish climbers, she argues, were so tough because their lives at home were so tough—they lost family members to World War II and its aftermath and were so much more poverty-stricken than their Western counterparts that they made much of their own climbing gear. While Freedom Climbers tells the larger story of an era, McDonald shares charismatic personal narratives such as that of Wanda Rutkiewicz, expected to be the first woman to climb all 8000-meter peaks until she disappeared on Kanchenjunga in 1992; Jerzy Kukuczka, who died in a fall while attempting the south face of Lhotse; and numerous other renowned climbers including Voytek Kurtyka, Artur Hajzer, Andrej Zawaka, and Krzysztof Wielicki. This is a fascinating window into a different world, far-removed from modernity yet connected by the strange allure of the mountain landscape, and a story of inspiring passion against all odds. This title is part of our LEGENDS AND LORE series. Click here > to learn more.

A dirt road, meandering through a boreal forest, headed for who knows where. Sara is the first, walking alone down the road, with fragrant fir and spruce crowding both sides of the road on a warm day. She sees the incredible two-story log home, dominating a clearing; beautiful beyond description. She rings the doorbell and hears melodic chimes, but there’s no answer. It takes every ounce of her courage to enter. The interior of the home is as magnificent as the exterior, with a cathedral ceiling soaring high above her. The home has the appealing smell of fresh-cut timber, but no occupants. In the dining room, on a massive table that is a polished slab of redwood, is a packet with her name on it. There are four other packets, identical to hers; all with different names. A voice from outside calls, it is Ann arriving. While they discuss the mysterious and impossible packets, Russel arrives. Following Russel, Brad arrives, then Tioga, the final arrival; all with packets awaiting them. They attempt to discover what common denominator put them on the mysterious dirt road. It is not age or race or gender or occupation that links them. Brad finally forces the other four to accept the unacceptable, they were all murdered. One by one they relate the painful events that led up to their deaths. Tioga asks the burning question, “Did we die yesterday, five years ago or a decade ago?” Brad suggests the packets with their names on them might hold the answer. He further proposes they open them in the order of their arrival. Sara is leery, because she was the first to arrive. Her courage needs bolstering. One by one they discover the contents of the packets. Each packet contains everything they would need to confront the people that murdered them. Brad askes the other four, “Is there anyone here who wants to turn the other cheek?” Narrowed eyes and looks of revenge answer his question. Armed with everything they will need for retribution, they leave on five quests of repayment in like coin. Will justice be painful and swift? Will justice even be achieved? Will they again find themselves on the enigmatic dirt road? Only the force that is powerful enough to bring them back from the grave knows the answer.

The first part of this volume describes the arising of the bodhicitta and the bodhisattva's path to Enlightenment in a weaving together of the sublime and the inspiringly practical, and the second part is a commentary on Santideva's classic 8th-century text, the Bodhicaryavatara, based on a seminar given in 1973.