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The Heart of the World: A Journey to the Last Secret Place
by Ian Baker
- Used
- Good
- Hardcover
- Signed
- first
- Condition
- Good/Very Good
- ISBN 10
- 1594200270
- ISBN 13
- 9781594200274
- Seller
-
Portland, Oregon, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
The Penguin Press, 2004-11-03. First Edition. Hardcover. Good/Very Good. 6x1x9. Signed by author on title page. Minor wear & light soiling on boards & edges of text block. Text and images unmarked. Dj lightly shelf worn around edges with scuffs & creases with an "autographed" label on front panel, in a mylar cover.
Synopsis
The myth of Shangri-la originates in Tibetan Buddhist beliefs in beyul , or hidden lands, sacred sanctuaries that reveal themselves to devout pilgrims and in times of crisis. The more remote and inaccessible the beyul , the vaster its reputed qualities. Ancient Tibetan prophecies declare that the greatest of all hidden lands lies at the heart of the forbidding Tsangpo Gorge, deep in the Himalayas and veiled by a colossal waterfall. Nineteenth-century accounts of this fabled waterfall inspired a series of ill-fated European expeditions that ended prematurely in 1925 when the intrepid British plant collector Frank Kingdon-Ward penetrated all but a five-mile section of the Tsangpo’s innermost gorge and declared that the falls were no more than a “religious myth” and a “romance of geography.” The heart of the Tsangpo Gorge remained a blank spot on the map of world exploration until world-class climber and Buddhist scholar Ian Baker delved into the legends. Whatever cryptic Tibetan scrolls or past explorers had said about the Tsangpo’s innermost gorge, Baker determined, could be verified only by exploring the uncharted five-mile gap. After several years of encountering sheer cliffs, maelstroms of impassable white water, and dense leech-infested jungles, on the last of a series of extraordinary expeditions, Baker and his National Geographic–sponsored team reached the depths of the Tsangpo Gorge. They made news worldwide by finding there a 108-foot-high waterfall, the legendary grail of Western explorers and Tibetan seekers alike. The Heart of the World is one of the most captivating stories of exploration and discovery in recent memory—an extraordinary journey to one of the wildest and most inaccessible places on earth and a pilgrimage to the heart of the Tibetan Buddhist faith.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Chaparral Books
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- PARSbakHEA
- Title
- The Heart of the World: A Journey to the Last Secret Place
- Author
- Ian Baker
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Good
- Jacket Condition
- Very Good
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First Edition
- ISBN 10
- 1594200270
- ISBN 13
- 9781594200274
- Publisher
- The Penguin Press
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 2004-11-03
- Size
- 6x1x9
- X weight
- 31 oz
Terms of Sale
Chaparral Books
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including original shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.
About the Seller
Chaparral Books
Biblio member since 2015
Portland, Oregon
About Chaparral Books
Chaparral Books is located across from Elephant's Deli on S Corbett Avenue in Portland. We have a well rounded collection of subjects, including an extensive core collection in Western Americana and Native American Literature including Western Writers.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Title Page
- A page at the front of a book which may contain the title of the book, any subtitles, the authors, contributors, editors, the...
- Edges
- The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...
- Text Block
- Most simply the inside pages of a book. More precisely, the block of paper formed by the cut and stacked pages of a book....
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