Road to Heaven: Encounters With Chinese Hermits
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Road to Heaven: Encounters With Chinese Hermits
by Authors:
Bill Porter , Steven R. Johnson
Released: June, 1993
ISBN: 1562790412
Paperback
Sales Rank: 78,243
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List price:
$14.95
Our price:
$10.47
(You save: $4.48)
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| Book > Road to Heaven: Encounters With Chinese Hermits > Customer Reviews: |
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Average Customer Rating: 
Road to Heaven: Encounters With Chinese Hermits >
Customer Review #1:
Very interesting examination of Chinese hermits
For the most part I found this book to be an excellent rendition of the authors and photographers trips through China, visiting with Taoist and Buddhist monks. The photographs blend in well with the text, and the two combine to give quite a good sense of the places and the people encountered. My only complaint was that the narrative seemed a bit rushed at time, almost as if the author had a quota of hermits to hook up with in a certain number of days - so no time to hang around. I think an in depth examination of the lives of 2 or 3 hermits might be another approach that could possibly yield more depth, as opposed to the greater breadth of this book. Anyway - a very enjoyable read. I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in religion, China, Buddhism, or Taoism.
Road to Heaven: Encounters With Chinese Hermits >
Customer Review #2:
 Uniquely Beautiful and Insightful...
Bill Porters account of his forays in the mountains of China is simply wonderful. It is a perfect blend of travelogue, local history, and interviews with hermits of the region (who are making a comeback in numbers after the Cultural Revolution). If you are looking for this sort of blend, rather than simply one of these focuses, then this is the book for you. Porter writes with an informed and deep appreciation for his subject. The real jewel of this book, however (and in my own opinion,) is the collection of interviews with people you would only meet if you went there. Hermits tend not to travel. And their insights into the spiritual life are very, very deep--even if they sound simple on the surface. This is *the* book I would take with me if I knew Id be stranded on a desert island. And I work in a bookstore.
Road to Heaven: Encounters With Chinese Hermits >
Customer Review #3:
 Travellogue to China
I was pleased at the start of this book, to have some geographical descriptions but it became more of a travel diary of where to go and what not to do. It is understandable that such an elusive prey as solitary hermits requires determined searching and physical effort, but less of the travellogue and more of the interviews may be useful. If you want to follow in some of Porter and Johnsons footsteps, be sure to have real time stamina and energy. This appears to be an exhaustive examination of the roads to travel. Little here to gain from insight and spiritual discovery, though there are a few gems hidden in the very wordy treatise. Not recommended for impatient travellers.
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Road to Heaven: Encounters With Chinese Hermits >
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