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Ultimate Journey

Retracing the Path of an Ancient Buddhist Monk Who Crossed Asia in Search of Enlightenment

Part of Vintage Departures

Author Richard Bernstein

Paperback

$19.00 US

Knopf | Vintage

5.2"W x 8"H x 0.8"D | 10 oz | 24 per carton

On sale Feb 05, 2002 | 368 Pages | 9780679781578

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In 629, the revered Buddhist monk Hsuan Tsang set out across Asia in search of the Ultimate Truth, and to settle what he called “the perplexities of my mind.” From the Tang dynasty capital at Xian through ancient Silk Road oases, over forbidding mountain passes to Tashkent, Samarkand, and the Amu-Darya River, across Pakistan to the holiest cities of India–and back again–his sixteen-year journey was beset with every hardship imaginable. Pilgrimage complete, Hsuan Tsang wrote an account of his trek that is still considered one of the classics of Chinese literature.

In 1998, Richard Bernstein, venerated journalist and Time magazine’s first Beijing bureau chief, retraced the steps of Hsuan Tsang’s long and sinuous route, comparing present and past. Aided by modern technology but hampered by language barriers, harried border crossings, hostile Islamic regimes, and the accidental U.S. bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, Bernstein follows the monk’s path not only in physical but in contemplative ways. Juxtaposing his own experiences with those of Hsuan Tsang, Bernstein has crafted a vivid account of two stirring adventures in pursuit of illumination. Inspiring and profoundly felt, Ultimate Journey is a marvelous amalgamation of travelogue and history, cultural critique and spiritual meditation.

RICHARD BERNSTEIN has been a reporter, culture critic, and commentator for more than thirty years. He was a foreign correspondent in Asia and Europe for Time and The New York Times, and was the first bureau chief in China for Time. He is the author of several books, among them China 1945; A Girl Named Faithful Plum; Ultimate Journey, a New York Times Best Book of the Year; and Out of the Blue, named one of the seven best books of the year by The Boston Globe. He lives in New York City. View titles by Richard Bernstein

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“Wonderful…. Deserves to become a classic in its own right.”–The New York Times Book Review

“Bernstein has the ability with his lucid, penetrating prose to connect the distant past to the way we live today.”–Gay Talese

“An engaging read, a trek that rewards with its richly tapestried background and its refreshing pauses for thoughtful historical and aesthetic insight.”–Los Angeles Times

“Ultimate Journey tells many tales at once, each with admirable skill. . . . There is much to ponder in the words written on the pages of this book.” --The New York Times Book Review

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