ReviewsPraise for The Half Known Life: "Pico Iyer has done the impossible with this book. . . This is a singular offering of magnetic story, deep thinking, truth telling, and spiritual refreshment for our tumultuous young century." -- New York Times "In elegant and ecstatic prose, Pico Iyer uncovers our wonderful capacity for hope, wearing his erudition so lightly. I was revitalized by this book." -- New York Times bestselling author Katherine May "To step into The Half Known Life feels both a privilege and a necessity. . . Iyer is more than a guide or a compatriot in an unfamiliar land: in the inward journey to lucidity he is a companion of our own searching minds." -- PEN Award winner Yiyun Li "In this brilliantly told Buddhist parable, Pico Iyer takes the reader from London to Santa Barbara, Jerusalem to Sri Lanka, Japan's Bridge of Heaven to Varanasi, exploring the insatiable human longing for Paradise while acutely observing -- with irony, wit, and empathy -- the paradoxes inherent in actual experience." --New York Times bestselling author Dr. Elaine Pagels "Nothing less than a guided tour of the human soul. Filled with hope, wisdom, and extraordinary tenderness, this is a book not only for the ages, but for our very specific, very troubled age. A masterpiece." -- New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert "This book combines the wisdom of a lifelong traveler with the insights of a dazzling range of spiritual traditions, sparking our enthusiasm for more adventures: both around the world and inside the soul." -- Pulitzer Prize winner Benjamin Moser, Praise for The Half Known Life: "Pico Iyer has done the impossible with this book. . . This is a singular offering of magnetic story, deep thinking, truth telling, and spiritual refreshment for our tumultuous young century." -- New York Times bestselling author Krista Tippett "In elegant and ecstatic prose, Pico Iyer uncovers our wonderful capacity for hope, wearing his erudition so lightly. I was revitalized by this book." -- New York Times bestselling author Katherine May "To step into The Half Known Life feels both a privilege and a necessity. . . Iyer is more than a guide or a compatriot in an unfamiliar land: in the inward journey to lucidity he is a companion of our own searching minds." -- PEN Award winner Yiyun Li "In this brilliantly told Buddhist parable, Pico Iyer takes the reader from London to Santa Barbara, Jerusalem to Sri Lanka, Japan's Bridge of Heaven to Varanasi, exploring the insatiable human longing for Paradise while acutely observing -- with irony, wit, and empathy -- the paradoxes inherent in actual experience." --New York Times bestselling author Dr. Elaine Pagels "Nothing less than a guided tour of the human soul. Filled with hope, wisdom, and extraordinary tenderness, this is a book not only for the ages, but for our very specific, very troubled age. A masterpiece." -- New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert "This book combines the wisdom of a lifelong traveler with the insights of a dazzling range of spiritual traditions, sparking our enthusiasm for more adventures: both around the world and inside the soul." -- Pulitzer Prize winner Benjamin Moser "With keen observation and beautiful language, Iyer shows us the essential truths of places, people, and ideas." --starred Kirkus Review "Immersive and profound. . . Iyer matches penetrating insights with some of the most transportive prose around. This further burnishes Iyer's reputation as one of the best." --starred Publishers Weekly "Profound... A numinous blend of deeply attentive travel writing, history, memoir, and reflection... There is much wonder here." --starred Booklist "Everywhere Pico Iyer travels his keen vision allows him to see both ravishing beauty and profound flaws... His wide-ranging quest is a useful reminder that the journey often is more absorbing than any destination... Pico Iyer elegantly recounts some of his exotic travels and reflects on the search for an elusive land of bliss." --Shelf-Awareness "Reading Mr. Iyer's book in the depth of winter, in a troubled world, it's heartening to think that paradise--or at least a glimpse of it--might be available from where we sit." -Wall Street Journal "From one of the most perceptive writers of our times, this one brings forth a lifetime of explorations to upend our ideas of utopia and ask how we might find peace in the midst of difficulty and suffering. Could there be anything better to pick at the start of the year?" -Harper's Bazaar, Praise for The Half Known Life: "Pico Iyer has done the impossible with this book. . . This is a singular offering of magnetic story, deep thinking, truth telling, and spiritual refreshment for our tumultuous young century." -- New York Times bestselling author Krista Tippett "In elegant and ecstatic prose, Pico Iyer uncovers our wonderful capacity for hope, wearing his erudition so lightly. I was revitalized by this book." -- New York Times bestselling author Katherine May "To step into The Half Known Life feels both a privilege and a necessity. . . Iyer is more than a guide or a compatriot in an unfamiliar land: in the inward journey to lucidity he is a companion of our own searching minds." -- PEN Award winner Yiyun Li "In this brilliantly told Buddhist parable, Pico Iyer takes the reader from London to Santa Barbara, Jerusalem to Sri Lanka, Japan's Bridge of Heaven to Varanasi, exploring the insatiable human longing for Paradise while acutely observing--with irony, wit, and empathy--the paradoxes inherent in actual experience." -- New York Times bestselling author Dr. Elaine Pagels "Nothing less than a guided tour of the human soul. Filled with hope, wisdom, and extraordinary tenderness, this is a book not only for the ages, but for our very specific, very troubled age. A masterpiece." -- New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert "This book combines the wisdom of a lifelong traveler with the insights of a dazzling range of spiritual traditions, sparking our enthusiasm for more adventures: both around the world and inside the soul." --Pulitzer Prize winner Benjamin Moser "One of his very best... A work of spiritual evolution built around vivid, discernible images of real places by a master of description... A masterful merging of Iyer's past and current concerns, a book of inner journeys told through extraordinary exteriors." --Washington Post "Reading Mr. Iyer's book in the depth of winter, in a troubled world, it's heartening to think that paradise--or at least a glimpse of it--might be available from where we sit." - Wall Street Journal "From one of the most perceptive writers of our times, this one brings forth a lifetime of explorations to upend our ideas of utopia and ask how we might find peace in the midst of difficulty and suffering. Could there be anything better to pick at the start of the year?" - Harper's Bazaar "Mesmerizing... In Iyer's riveting anecdotes, a sudden intimacy with death brings one closer to glimpses of paradise." - NPR "In Iyer's hands , the search for paradise, the way out of the ego, doubles as an internal journey... This elliptical odyssey, graced with occasional notes of light, finds itself by dwelling in the shadows... His book has the soft ring of a classic Buddhist meditation strategy: In order to understand the emptiness of the ego, one must first find the self as it appears." - New York Times Book Review "Everywhere Pico Iyer travels his keen vision allows him to see both ravishing beauty and profound flaws... His wide-ranging quest is a useful reminder that the journey often is more absorbing than any destination... Pico Iyer elegantly recounts some of his exotic travels and reflects on the search for an elusive land of bliss." -- Shelf Awareness, Praise for The Half Known Life : "Nobody knows the world better than Pico Iyer. In this soulful memoir, he journeys to quite literally to the ends of the earth searching for answers about the nature of humanity, and pondering our tenuous future on this beautiful, fragile planet. What he has written is nothing less than a guided tour of the human soul. Filled with hope, wisdom, and extraordinary tenderness, this is a book not only for the ages, but for our very specific, very troubled age. A masterpiece." -- #1 New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert "Pico Iyer has inspired so many to take to the road, to see for ourselves the mountains and mosques his prose makes so irresistible. And as he shows us this outer world, he shows the inner world, too: the ways that people journey inside in search of truth and beauty. This book combines the wisdom of a lifelong traveler with the insights of a dazzling range of spiritual traditions, sparking our enthusiasm for more adventures: both around the world and inside the soul." --Pulitzer Prize winner Benjamin Moser Praise for Pico Iyer: "One of our most beloved and eloquent translators of the modern rediscovery of inner life." --Krista Tippett "One of the most soulful and perceptive writers of our time." --Maria Popova, Brain Pickings "Iyer is an admirable example of a citizen of the world--an erudite, open-minded cosmopolitan." -- New Statesman "Pico Iyer's remarkable talent is enough justification for going anywhere in the world he fancies." -- Washington Post, Praise for The Half Known Life: "Pico Iyer has done the impossible with this book. . . This is a singular offering of magnetic story, deep thinking, truth telling, and spiritual refreshment for our tumultuous young century." -- New York Times bestselling author Krista Tippett "In elegant and ecstatic prose, Pico Iyer uncovers our wonderful capacity for hope, wearing his erudition so lightly. I was revitalized by this book." -- New York Times bestselling author Katherine May "To step into The Half Known Life feels both a privilege and a necessity. . . Iyer is more than a guide or a compatriot in an unfamiliar land: in the inward journey to lucidity he is a companion of our own searching minds." -- PEN Award winner Yiyun Li "In this brilliantly told Buddhist parable, Pico Iyer takes the reader from London to Santa Barbara, Jerusalem to Sri Lanka, Japan's Bridge of Heaven to Varanasi, exploring the insatiable human longing for Paradise while acutely observing -- with irony, wit, and empathy -- the paradoxes inherent in actual experience." --New York Times bestselling author Dr. Elaine Pagels "Nothing less than a guided tour of the human soul. Filled with hope, wisdom, and extraordinary tenderness, this is a book not only for the ages, but for our very specific, very troubled age. A masterpiece." -- New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert "This book combines the wisdom of a lifelong traveler with the insights of a dazzling range of spiritual traditions, sparking our enthusiasm for more adventures: both around the world and inside the soul." -- Pulitzer Prize winner Benjamin Moser "With keen observation and beautiful language, Iyer shows us the essential truths of places, people, and ideas." --starred Kirkus Review "Immersive and profound. . . Iyer matches penetrating insights with some of the most transportive prose around. This further burnishes Iyer's reputation as one of the best." --starred Publishers Weekly "Profound... A numinous blend of deeply attentive travel writing, history, memoir, and reflection... There is much wonder here." --starred Booklist, Praise for The Half Known Life: "Pico Iyer has done the impossible with this book. . . This is a singular offering of magnetic story, deep thinking, truth telling, and spiritual refreshment for our tumultuous young century." -- New York Times bestselling author Krista Tippett "In elegant and ecstatic prose, Pico Iyer uncovers our wonderful capacity for hope, wearing his erudition so lightly. I was revitalized by this book." -- New York Times bestselling author Katherine May "To step into The Half Known Life feels both a privilege and a necessity. . . Iyer is more than a guide or a compatriot in an unfamiliar land: in the inward journey to lucidity he is a companion of our own searching minds." -- PEN Award winner Yiyun Li "In this brilliantly told Buddhist parable, Pico Iyer takes the reader from London to Santa Barbara, Jerusalem to Sri Lanka, Japan's Bridge of Heaven to Varanasi, exploring the insatiable human longing for Paradise while acutely observing -- with irony, wit, and empathy -- the paradoxes inherent in actual experience." --New York Times bestselling author Dr. Elaine Pagels "Nothing less than a guided tour of the human soul. Filled with hope, wisdom, and extraordinary tenderness, this is a book not only for the ages, but for our very specific, very troubled age. A masterpiece." -- New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert "This book combines the wisdom of a lifelong traveler with the insights of a dazzling range of spiritual traditions, sparking our enthusiasm for more adventures: both around the world and inside the soul." -- Pulitzer Prize winner Benjamin Moser "With keen observation and beautiful language, Iyer shows us the essential truths of places, people, and ideas." --starred Kirkus Review "Immersive and profound. . . Iyer matches penetrating insights with some of the most transportive prose around. This further burnishes Iyer's reputation as one of the best." --starred Publishers Weekly "Profound... A numinous blend of deeply attentive travel writing, history, memoir, and reflection... There is much wonder here." --starred Booklist "Everywhere Pico Iyer travels his keen vision allows him to see both ravishing beauty and profound flaws... His wide-ranging quest is a useful reminder that the journey often is more absorbing than any destination... Pico Iyer elegantly recounts some of his exotic travels and reflects on the search for an elusive land of bliss." --Shelf Awareness
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