Product Description

Celebrating the 70th anniversary of this magical and well-loved classic. Following a plane crash, Conway, a British consul; his deputy; a missionary; and an American financier find themselves in the enigmatic snow-capped mountains of uncharted Tibet. Here they discover a seemingly perfect hidden community where they are welcomed with gracious hospitality. Intrigued by its mystery, the travellers set about discovering the secret hidden at the shimmering heart of Shangri-La.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #61689 in Books
• Published on: 2005-03-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Bournemouth Echo
'A prophetic, thought-provoking story'

Customer Reviews

AMAZING!
Lost Horizon, the story about the utopia of complete happiness, long life and peace.
The book tells the story of Robert Conway who finds after being "kidnapped" in the mountains of Tibet an escape of the modern busy and exhausting life. Shangri-La the little village in which he intends to stay until he can get back into civilisation seems to be completely isolated from the outside world. The village and it's lamasery hold many secrets which turn out to be more and more astonishing.

I couldn't stop reading, the book is just amazing. It's easily the best and most well written story I've every read. Even though it was written in the 30s, it is still modern. Timeless.

I recommend it everybody, you won't regret buying/reading it!

Timeless
Rightly or wrongly I often feel that the English language was put to its best use both in writing and in speech up until the mid 20th century. Authors of the Victorian age through to the 1950's seem to have been able to write in a genuinely captivating manner without having to resort to cheap crudities and streams of foul language.

There is a time and a place for crudity and bad language but the strength of writers like James Hilton was that they could hold your attention without having to resort to them.

Lost Horizon is a prime example. The story quickly gets underway and the adventure starts immediately. The characters are strong with Conway and Barnard coming across as likeable, Miss Brinklow as a somewhat shrewish and repressed spinster and Mallinson as a frankly unlikeable neurotic.

The inhabitants of the Lamasery are as inscrutable as the people from that part of the world are reputed to be and the air of mystery remains throughout the book.

I saw the film many years ago and only recently decided to read the book. I found it impossible to put it down. Lost Horizon is perfectly paced, eminently readable and one of the most enjoyable books that I have picked up in a long time. While it is set in the 1930's and the use of language is reflected, I hope that should anyone ever attempt a remake of the film, that they'll make it a period piece and not attempt to bring it into the modern world. That would be a mistake.

In the meantime, watch the Ronald Coleman film and read the book. You won't regret either.

Fill in the Unstated with Your Imagination!
In the depths of the worldwide economic depression as the war drumbeats began in Germany, James Hilton wrote a quirky, imaginative book about the potential to escape the harsh reality. In so doing, he caused each reader since then to wonder what the right balance of tranquility and challenge really is. Like the best books about possible utopias, Lost Horizon leaves much to the reader's imagination. Undoubtedly, you will conjure up solutions to the riddles left open by the author that will be especially pleasing to you.

Although the book is clearly set in the 30's with a British perspective, many of the themes struck me as universal. As the book opens, there's an intriguing prologue that sets just the right tone for the story. You are to read a manuscript about the experiences of one Hugh "Glory" Conway, H.M. consul. The manuscript opens with airplane hijacking that seemed all too realistic. Quickly, the hijacking turns into a surprising adventure as the passengers unexpectedly arrive in a little known part of Tibet and are escorted to Shangri-La, a lamasery sitting atop a hidden valley of peace and tranquility. While there, they await an opportunity to arrange passage with the bearers who are bringing a shipment that is expected in 60 days. Conway, however, learns the secrets of Shangri-La and finds himself faced with an extraordinary set of choices.

To me, Shangri-La is a metaphor for the mental tranquility that many spiritual practices can bring. For anyone who has enjoyed these practices, you will know that it can be tempting to withdraw totally into them. To do so can be delicious, especially for the frazzled soul. At the same time, we are made of flesh, blood and boil with emotions that seek their venting through action. How can the two instincts be reconciled? You are left to come to your own conclusions, and that's one of the great beauties of this fine book.

The book has several weaknesses that will bother most readers. Except for Conway, the character development is minimal. The book is too conveniently filled with people in Tibet who speak perfect English. Morality is held a little bit too much in suspense for the book to be as spiritual as it had the potential to be. There's a heavy overlay of British Empire perspective that will seem remote to current readers as well.

The ideal reader for this book is someone who enjoyed Butler's Erewhon or H.G. Wells's The Time Machine.

I was left thinking that we each need our own personal Shangri-La today more than ever. May you find a way to carry it with you!