The Half Known Life

Finding Paradise in a Divided World

The Half Known Life
Pico Iyer
RRP:
NZ$ 44.99
Our Price:
NZ$ 35.99
Hardback
h198 x 129mm - 240pg
19 Jan 2023 UK
Eta 3-5 days from NZ Market Release
9781526655011
Out Of Stock
- Preorder Title for delivery after release -
Quantity:
 
 
' Nothing less than a guided tour of the human soul' Elizabeth Gilbert' In elegant and ecstatic prose, Pico Iyer uncovers our wonderful capacity for hope' Katherine MayOne of our most perceptive travel writers embarks on an exploration of the world' s holiest sites and where we might find paradise on Earth. It' s so easy, I thought, to place Paradise in the past or the future - anywhere but here. After half a century of travel, from Ethiopia to Tibet, from Belfast to Jerusalem, Pico Iyer asks himself what kind of paradise can ever be found in a world of unceasing conflict. In a spectacular journey, both inward and outward, Iyer roams from crowded mosques in Iran to a film studio in North Korea, from a holy mountain in Japan to the sometimes spooky emptiness of the Australian outback. At every stop, he makes connections with unexpected strangers - mystics and taxi drivers and fellow travellers - and draws on his own memories, of time spent in a Benedictine monastery high above the Pacific, of regular travels with the Dalai Lama, of hearing his late mother speak of sunlit moments in pre-Partition India. By the end, he has upended many of our expectations and dared to suggest that we can find paradise right in the heart of our angry, confused and divided world.
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. -- Elizabeth Gilbert 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. -- Yiyun Li In elegant and ecstatic prose, Pico Iyer uncovers our wonderful capacity for hope, wearing his erudition so lightly. I was revitalized by this book. -- Katherine May I defy anyone to read this profound travelogue and not immediately start reading it again. If there is a "paradise of words", this is it. -- John Keay A wise, immaculately written achievement that could only be contemplated after a lifetime of travel and reading and pondering. Reading The Half Known Life is to yield to the most invigorating and thought-provoking meditation. -- Nicholas Shakespeare 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. -- Krista Tippett I really really enjoyed the book -- Frank Cottrell Boyce In his guise of travel writer, Iyer has really been our most elegant poet of dislocation * Guardian, reviewing The Man Within My Head *
Pico Iyer is the author of fifteen books, translated into twenty-three languages. He has been a contributor for more than thirty years to the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Time and Harper' s Magazine, and has written for many more publications worldwide, including the New York Review of Books, Granta and the Financial Times. His four recent talks for TED have received more than ten million views. www. picoiyerjourneys. com

In stock - for items in stock we aim to dispatch the next business day. For delivery in NZ allow 2-5 business days, with rural taking a wee bit longer.

Locally sourced in NZ - stock comes from a NZ supplier with an approximate delivery of 7-15 business days.

International Imports - stock is imported into NZ, depending on air or sea shipping option from the international supplier stock can take 10-30 working days to arrive into NZ. 

Pre-order Titles - delivery will vary depending on where the title is published, if local stock is available in NZ then 5-7 business days, for international imports it can be 10-30 business days. In all cases we will access the quickest supply option.

Delivery Packaging - we ship all items in cardboard sleeves or by box with either packing paper or corn starch chips. (We avoid using plastics bubble bags)

Tracking - Orders are delivered by track and trace courier and are fully insured, tracking information will be sent by email once dispatched.

View our full Order & Delivery information