You need inspiration when planning
a long trip and when times get tough on the road. Here are
the books that inspired me on my journey.
| Hermann
Hesse - Siddhartha |
This book chronicles the search of the Brahmin Siddhartha for his destiny in ancient India. His journey and experiences resonated strongly with me. I read it while still planning my journey at home in England. |
| Hermann
Hesse - Glass Bead Game |
The book that won Hesse the Nobel Prize for Literature is his masterpiece. Hesse is my favourite author, I named this site after one of his books (The Journey to the East). Full of pyschological insight and a great read. I thoroughly enjoyed this in a hammock on Koh Pha Ngan in Thailand. |
| Hermann
Hesse - Narcissus and Goldmund |
Tells the story of a priest and a casanova in medieval Europe. Describes the conflict between following the path of the heart and the mind. Shorter than Bead Game but also a great book. |
| Friedrich
Nietzsche - Thus Spoke Zarathustra |
Nietzsche's most influential work detailing his ideas on human potential and the human condition. Not an easy read but an inspiring one. |
| Carl
Gustav Jung - London Lectures |
A transcript of a series of lectures Jung gave in London in the 30's. I read this in the mountains of Sapa in Vietnam. |
| Paulo
Coelho - The Alchemist |
The overiding message of this book is to follow your dreams. I read this when I was planning my journey and knew I had made the right choice to travel. Thoroughly recommended. |
| Peter
Matthiessen - The Snow Leopard |
The Snow Leopard is Mattheissen's most famous book. An account of his search for the rare cat in the mountains of Nepal it is also a spiritual journey. Beautifully written and imbued with the spirit of his journey. |
| Peter
Mattheissen - Nine Headed Dragon River |
Journals is an autobiographical collection of Mattheissen's writing from various works. It details the sad passing of his first wife from cancer and his many years of zen meditation training. It was perfect reading in the mountains of Spiti, near the Tibetan border in Northern India. |
| Eckhart
Tolle - The Power of Now |
I read this book during an Open Dharma retreat in Rishikesh, India. It describes how the noise and distractions of the mind can be overcome, enabling one to live life in "the Now" or present moment. A very powerful book. |
| Eckhart
Tolle : A fan site |
A comprehensive online resource dedicated to Eckhart
Tolle |
| Jon
Krakauer - Into the Wild |
The story of Christopher McCandless, a young American boy that died of starvation in an abandoned bus, in the woods of Alaska in the early 1990's. Despite being extreme in many ways, one can't help but warm to the young man's courage in rejecting the norms of society and dropping out of a bright but predictable future, for a life on the road. |
