The Heart of the World: A Journey to the Last Secret Place

Leeches, cliffs, jungle, dead ends, porters who quit, food running out--repeat as necessary while convincing self, if not reader, that the quest is spiritual. Penetrate to a previously hidden area, then complain that others will follow.

There are a lot of things going on in this beyond a simple recitation of explorations. Some of the Buddhist digressions overwhelm the narrative and the weird hints at orgies in hippie-trail paradise are creepy, but the essence of the book is solid and enlightening not only for the description of the Tsangpo gorges, but also for the spiritual dimensions of landscape in the Tibetan ontology.

Baker explores the sacred geography of the wild Tsangpo Gorge with a scholar's head, an adventurer's grit, and a pilgrim's heart, nicely documenting the contradictions of such exploration, which are at least as challenging as the landscape he enters. Where he falls a little short is on capturing more than the barest minimum of psychological detail about the other people who populate his story, or even himself, beyond what relates directly to his own spiritual quest. It makes him seem a bit aloof where social relationships, so important to most of our experience of reality, especially during such extreme situations as he describes, are concerned.

But you can't have everything--this is an underlying message of the book, in simplified show more form--well, actually, you can't have anything, in Buddhist terms--and for anyone who wants a better understanding of the whole idea of sacred geography, particularly as it is expressed in Tibetan Buddhism, with a good dose of both natural and geo-political history and a wonderful travelogue to boot, this book provides abundantly. show less

Jan Baker an intrepid explorer and mountaineer, inspired by Tibetan termas, chronicles his search to the door of Shangri-la in the Himalayas. He and his team sloughed through the rough terrain of Pemaka in Tibet into snake infested forests with gnats and mosquitos, blood sucking worms and leeches. Fog and rain were their constant companions. They also faced beaurocratic road blocks from hard headed Chinese officials and enigmatic responses from Buddhists lamas and abbots. His pilgrimage is well worth reading since his excursion may be one of the last to describe an until-now unknown refuge as China begins to modernize Tibet.

This was an incredibly transformative book. Ian baker describes 20 years of trying to find a mythic place in the Himalayas known only through centuries old sacred texts. I picked this book up in February, 2006 and within a month I had applied to Pacifica Graduate Institute to start a Doctoral Program to further my study of sacred space. It has been less than 3 years now, and I am nearly through with coursework studying the phenomenal, the transpersonal, and the unconscious. I do not think I would have taken that step at this point without a life changing read!

Haunting. Not because it is the best example of travel writing. It isn't. Not because it engenders a deeper understanding of Tibetan Buddhism or the author's spiritual quest. All in all I would say that he engages in far too much navel gazing. Not because the descriptions of the landscape, the weather, the animals or the people were the finest I have ever read. The weren't. But for reasons I'm not sure I can fully articulate this book WAS haunting and has stuck with me from the first moment I saw the cover sitting on a "New Arrivals" shelf at the Issaquah, Washington Barnes & Noble store. Although none of the components I listed are the best I've seen, they still combine in such a way as to leave me yearning. The portrait on the front show more cover is for me the defining image of how I feel about the book, tantalizing glimpses seen through veils of mist. Promises of more if only I could find my way through. show less

Some interesting content, but the writing is often tedious to suffer though, with far too many quotes, tangents, and names to make a coherent story.

He's also a bit hypocritical in his condemnation of the "competing" Chinese expedition in the last chapter, considering the nature and mission of his own expedition. He remarks on this irony at one point, but doesn't address it in any satisfactory way.

Color pictures, and captions on the pictures, would have been appreciated.

If you're interested in both Buddhism (particularly Tibetan Buddhism) and exploration, this is worth a read. If you're interested in only one or the other, there are probably better choices.