This is the first book to treat the impact of religious, philosophical and psychological traditions of the East on Western intellectuals, artists, travellers and spiritual seekers in the twentieth century. Addressed to both general readers and scholars of religion, it is especially valuable for its penetrating and inter-religious analysis of two of the most compelling themes now facing the world: the emergence of cross-cultural religious understanding of the natural order and ecological crisis and the metaphysical basis for both the formal diversity and essential unity of religious traditions of both East and West. The West has long romanticized the "mysterious" East, but it has, also, judged its traditions as "uncivilized." Our notions about Eastern spirituality have been formed by a succession of travellers, scientists, artists, intellectuals, poets, philosophers and missionaries, as well as by Eastern travellers who have spent time in the West. This book helps us to recognize the influence of Eastern ideas upon modern Western thought by tracing the history of engagements between East and West up until the present day. It concludes with a section that helps us to perceive the timeless value of the many Eastern contributions to the West's current intellectual and spiritual state.

"The story of a pilgrimage which apparently fails"--Cover.

Shares the influential architect's account of a 1911 trip through central and eastern Europe and includes sketches he made along the way.

Until the end of World War II, East Prussia was the German empire's farthest eastern redoubt, a thriving and beautiful land on the southeastern coast of the Baltic Sea. Now it lives only in history and in myth. Since 1945, the territory has been divided between Poland and Russia, stretching from the border between Russia and Lithuania in the east and south, and through Poland in the west. In Forgotten Land, Max Egremont offers a vivid account of this region and its people through the stories of individuals who were intimately involved in and transformed by its tumultuous history, as well as accounts of his own travels and interviews he conducted along the way. Forgotten Land is a story of historical identity and character, told through intimate portraits of people and places. It is a unique examination of the layers of history, of the changing perceptions and myths of homeland, of virtue and of wickedness, and of how a place can still overwhelm those who left it years before.

In 1883, Isabella Stewart Gardner and her husband embarked on a trip that would take them from Boston, across the Unites States and the Pacific, to Japan, China Cambodia and finally, the India of the Raj. Travelling in the wake of recent Western expansion into Asia, they were privileged guests in a world convulsed by colliding forces and identities. They visited ancient temples; met missionaries and colonial officials; toured rubble left but anti-Western riots; camped at Angkhor Wat but took first-class trains throughout India. Isabella kept a diary, bought photographs, and assembled a travel album. Back home, she became a pioneering collector of Asian art. 'Journeys East' reconstructs the Gardners' epic journey with illustrations from Isabella's albums and quotations from her diary and her husband's letters and notes. Isabella's evolving relationship to Asia is the subject of essays by Alan Chong, Noriko Murai, and Christine Guth, amoth other major authorities, that consider a broad range of topics, from the Japanese tea ceremony to her selection and display of Asian art at her extraordinary museum in Boston. A new kind of book, 'Journeys East' combines the history of travel and collecting with the study of East-West relations. Nearly all the 400 illustrations in this oversize book reproduce vintage photographs on her travels. In numerous instances, the photographs document sites long changed beyond recognition. The book will be of exceptional interest to readers of Joseph Conrad. ILLUSTRATIONS 400 illustrations

It was one of the great encounters of world history: highly educated European priests confronting Chinese culture for the first time in the modern era. This “journey to the East” is explored by Brockey as he retraces the path of the Jesuit missionaries who sailed from Portugal to China.

2020 Banff Mountain Book Competition Finalist in Adventure Travel In Journeys North, legendary trail angel, thru hiker, and former PCTA board member Barney Scout Mann spins a compelling tale of six hikers on the Pacific Crest Trail in 2007 as they walk from Mexico to Canada. This ensemble story unfolds as these half-dozen hikers--including Barney and his wife, Sandy--trod north, slowly forming relationships and revealing their deepest secrets and aspirations. They face a once-in-a-generation drought and early severe winter storms that test their will in this bare-knuckled adventure. In fact, only a third of all the hikers who set out on the trail that year would finish. As the group approaches Canada, a storm rages. How will these very different hikers, ranging in age, gender, and background, respond to the hardship and suffering ahead of them? Can they all make the final 60-mile push through freezing temperatures, sleet, and snow, or will some reach their breaking point? Journeys North is a story of grit, compassion, and the relationships people forge when they strive toward a common goal.