Overview

The idea of a hidden refuge, a paradise far from the stresses of modern life, has universal appeal. In 1932 the writer James Hilton coined the word 'Shangri-La' to describe such a place, when he gave that name to a hidden valley in the Himalayas in his novel LOST HORIZON. In THE SEARCH FOR SHANGRI-LA acclaimed traveller and writer Charles Allen explores the myth behind the story. He tracks down the sources that Hilton drew upon in writing his popular romance, and then sets out to discover what lies behind the legend that inspired him. In the course of a lively and amusing account of his four journeys into Tibet, Allen also gives us a controversial new reading of the country's early history, shattering our notions of Tibet as a Buddhist paradise and restoring the mysterious pre-Buddhist religion of Bon to its rightful place in Tibetan culture. He also locates the lost kingdom of Shang-shung and, in doing so, the original Shangri-La itself: in an astounding gorge beyond the Himalayas, full of extraordinary ruins.

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9780349111421

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A thoughtprovoking work, filled with unusual links and ideas that deserve to be explored Patrick French in The Sunday TIMES Retells the adventures of kings and seers, shamans and deities, handling the tales of war, triumph and defeat with mastery Tahir Shah in The LITERARY REVIEW

'A thoughtprovoking work, filled with unusual links and ideas that deserve to be explored' - Patrick French in the Sunday Times 'Retells the adventures of kings and seers, shamans and deities, handling the tales of war, triumph and defeat with mastery' - Tahir Shah in the Literary Review

A thoughtprovoking work, filled with unusual links and ideas that deserve to be explored - Patrick French in The Sunday TIMES Retells the adventures of kings and seers, shamans and deities, handling the tales of war, triumph and defeat with mastery - Tahir Shah in The LITERARY REVIEW

Thanks to James Hilton's novel Lost Horizon, the notion of Shangri-La is so deeply ingrained in the western mind that we tend to forget its origins in Tibet. There the hidden kingdom of Shambhala is an essential folk memory from the pre-Buddhist days of the Tibetan kings. But it is a folk memory based on the reality of a little known and long destroyed kingdom in the far west of modern Tibet. Seeking that reality was Charles Allen's goal when he wrote his marvellous account of the search for Mt Kailas, A Mountain in Tibet, but as he ruefully admits, he failed then to find it. Now, in this delightful sequel, he both attains his goal and outdoes the hero of Lost Horizon by returning to tell the tale. This book triumphantly confirms Allen's place in the front rank of British travel writers. (Kirkus UK)

Author Information

Charles Allen is an oral and military historian, and the author of several bestselling books on colonial themes. He lives in Hampstead.

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