Very well written account of a personal journey...through the Buddhist world and across Buddhist history. The writer provides both an historic context for Buddhism as well as the platform for a thinking through the personal application of the spiritual components. I enjoyed the book a great deal.

> Positives: nice glimpses of buddhism in different countries, well researched, taps into the desires to better understand the "big questions", held attention during a long plane ride

> Negatives: rarely goes into depth regarding the many strains of buddhism described, doesn't seem to leave reader with much at the end

> Big annoyance: 50+ year old white author's views on Asian women.

e.g. "I was becoming enamored with the beauty, charm, and mercurial quality of Chinese woman." . . .the same later happens with a Vietnamese woman. . . these parts were not needed and definitely turned me off (or would've rated book a bit higher).

For a buddhism related book, would recommend [[ASIN:0316167258 Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skill]]