Product Description

On a pilgrimage to see the Dalai Lama in the foothills of the Himalayas; blissed out in Germany with a beautiful Indian girl, believed to be 'the Divine Mother'; witnessing miracles in the ashram of Sai Baba, and searching for the Messiah in the back streets of London - the spiritual tourist is the Candide of the age, on a voyage of inner search and illumination. The spiritual quest - a yearning for a sense of the sacred - has become a leitmotif of 20th century life as we head for the Millennium. In his vivid, interrogative and highly entertaining book, Mick Brown joins the holy, the lost, the wise and the foolish on the highways and backroads of spiritual tourism. Whether confronting the mystical, the miraculous or the frankly unbelievable, the book is an 'adventure of the spirit' for Mick Brown himself, a writer who researches with a passionate engagement, and reports with candour, wit and clarity. For anyone engaged on the search, perplexed or simply amused by it, there could be no better spiritual tourist guide.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #102010 in Books
• Published on: 1999-02-18
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 324 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Nick Brown's entertaining journey into contemporary expressions of spirituality starts with bemused reports of alleged miracles in dreary North London suburbs and the appearance of Christ in the East End. The author's respect for the intensity of belief in such stories leads him to a journey along the Indian spiritual trail, staying amongst the passionate followers of the self- proclaimed deity, Sai Babi. There is a brief trip to Tennessee to witness more alleged miraculous signs, but the tone is markedly more sceptical here. The book is at its most interesting when it provides the history of the Western "prophets" of Eastern spirituality, tracing the claims of Mr Creme in North London in the 1990s back to the story of the founding of the Theosophical Society in the 1880s by Madame Blavatsky. This hashish-smoking, circus-performing, Russian occultist was condemned as an outrageous fraudster in 1884, yet Theosophy has spawned an influential set of beliefs which clearly inform current New Age thinking. Mick Brown retains a healthy scepticism about some claims, but he also professes that he has "come to believe that the world is more of spirit than of matter", and so respects rather than vilifies those he meets. The result lies somewhere between Fortean weirdness and genuine spiritual searching. --Roger Luckhurst

The Times
‘Brown achieves a comprehensive and lucid history of the religious fringe, and is careful never to sneer’

Mail on Sunday
‘A piece of superior extended journalism in which personal encounters blend beautifully with historical anecdote and vivid travelogue’

Customer Reviews

Best Book I've read in Years
I really love this book. I love the genuine spirit of enquiry and the laid back humour. It tells me more about the spiritual disciplines Mick Brown visits than numerous religious tomes would and I enjoyed reading so much that when I got to the end I started over again. Buy three copies because you'll need two to give to your friends...

I couldn't put this one down!
Mick Brown proves to be the perfect travel companion as you travel the globe with him on a spiritual tour package. Sounds tacky I know but it isn't. Brown's search is essentially for clarity in what proves to be a global mall-like atmosphere of belief systems which rangefrom tacky (Sai Baba) to what looks like the real thing (Buddhist monks in Darahmasala). You could probably get information on these centers of holiness from other sources but Mick Brown writes with a peaceful mixture of cynicism and broad mindedness that often leaves you chuckling along with him in as you journey together into some interesting dimensions. The best thing about it is that is not overly didactic which is rare for a book on spiritual journeys and Brown leaves you as the reader the room to decide what you think for yourself. On ya!

Surprisingly good
I had gone to my local bookshop in search of my favourite travel author, an American called Bill Bryson, but they had just been visited by a coach party from Ohio who had bought every Bryson! I was desperate for "a fix"of travel writing and the assistant recommended Mr. Brown's book. I was doubtful since I had never hard of him and had no interest in spiritual matters ( my neighbour upstairs is always holding seances, which make my ceiling shake!). But I took a chance and bought it. I am glad that I did. It is a really smashing read, full of jokes and astute observations, mixed with interesting observations on the nature of Man and his relationship to the Cosmos. I am still a sceptic about matters spiritual but thanks to Mr. Brown I am a much better informed one! It is only a pity, in my humble opinion, that Mr. Brown chose a title which put off "non-believers" like myself!