Алтай — Гималаи

by Nicholas Roerich, Николай Рерих

Napisannaya v forme putevyh zametok, kniga "Altaj Gimalai" v dejstvitel'nosti gorazdo glubzhe po svoemu soderzhaniyu, chem obychnyj putevoj dnevnik. Na stranitsah etoj knigi chitatel' poznakomitsya s mnozhestvom interesnejshih faktov iz istorii, kul'tury, duhovnojzhizni drevnego i sovremennogo Vostoka. Kniga N.K. Reriha stanet nastoyaschim podarkom dlya vseh, interesuyuschihsya ezotericheskoj duhovnoj kul'turoj Indii i Tibeta.

Genres: Spirituality, Travel, Biography, Nonfiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1929

About the author

Nicholas Roerich, also known as Nikolai Konstantinovich Rerikh (alternative transliteration) (Russian: Никола́й Константи́нович Ре́рих), was a Russian painter, writer, archaeologist, public figure, mystic, enlightener and philosopher.

Born in Saint Petersburg, Russia to the family of a well-to-do notary public, he lived around the world until his death in Punjab, India. Trained as an artist and a lawyer, his interests lay in literature, philosophy, archaeology and especially art. Roerich was a dedicated activist for the cause of preserving art and architecture in times of war. He earned several nominations for the Nobel Prize. The so-called Roerich Pact was signed into law by the United States and most member nations of the Pan-American Union in April 1935.

Reviews

[Aleksandar Sarkic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Altai Himalaya: A travel diary by Russian Artist and Mystic Nicholas Roerich is must have for everyone interested in Central Asia Region, its people and its history. Roerich wonderfully documents economic, social and political relationships in the region, his eye for detail is also wonderful. I must say i mostly enjoyed part of diary when he was in Xinjiang province of China (East Turkestan), it is well written and it is the most interesting part of his journey. We really don't know much of that part of the world, and when you read you see that was in ancient past one of the main crossroads and place were people connected through commerce and various religions. It still fascinates me that whole region was once mostly buddhist, and people who lived there looked similliar to Europeans. Beginining of the book, on Ceylon and India is little confusing and fast written and give us not to much detalis like part of his travel through Xinjiang and later Altai and Tibet. This is really unique diary and i am recommending it to anyone interested in Eastern cultures and regions.

[Marti · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is literally a travel diary written from the perspective of an educated, curious and intensely spiritual, well-to-do artist of the 1920's. Roerich made revealing daily entries from automobile, horse and camel back, and in tents and houses lit with oil lamps or candles. His expedition travelled through glorious, frightening, freezing Himalaya mountains and valleys to blisteringly hot, endless deserts. They met many sorts of persons, and Roerich notes his honest (not necessarily flattering!) opinions of each. He also includes political, artistic, and spiritual commentaries along with prints of some of his paintings. Truly a fascinating book for any armchair world traveler!

[Linda · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ilgi svārstījos no vienas uz divām zvaigznēm. Ne mans prieks par Rēriha mākslas darbiem, ne zināšanas, ka tās tomēr ir 90 gadus vecus piezīmes, kā arī laika biedru slavas dziesmas šai personībai nepalīdzēja man atrast sajūsmu par šo grāmatu. Protams, šis darbs netika rakstīts, lai man izpatiktu. Tas noteikti rakstīts un publicēts paliekot patiess pret autora filozofiju un dzīves uzskatiem, bet, neskatoties uz to, ka šī filozofija man imponē, veids kā tas tiek pasniegts pilnībā sagrāva patiku. Viss tika pasniegts tik menlbalti. Budisms pacelts kā vienīgais pareizais ceļš, viss citādāk ir tumsonība. Varbūt iepazīstoties ar citiem Rēriha darbiem var atrast kādus paskaidrojumus, kāpēc viņš tam tik svēti tic, bet šajā grāmatā viss ir kā pašsaprotams apgalvojums. Nav nekādu paskaidrojumu un vietas spekulācijai, tāpēc sanāca visu grāmatu pavadīt no velna advokāta pozīcijas. Laikam kļūda, ka šī bija mana pirmā Rēriha grāmata.

[Patrick · Rating 1 out of 5]

Roerich is an interesting artist, one whose paintings straddle kitsch and moving otherworldly scenes (probably this says more about me than about him). I picked up his account of his travels in India, China, Russia, Mongolia and Tibet in the mid-twenties thinking it might have interesting stories of a world that had yet to move into the modern era. Instead, Roerich alternates between credulously repeating stories about miracles performed by lamas and the coming Maitreya and Shambhala, and complaining about corrupt Chinese and Tibetan officials (so much for enlightenment.) I can understand his frustration at the cruelty of bureaucrats, but he seems to have no insight whatsoever into the cultures through which he travels. So don't read this, but take a look at his paintings instead - there is a nice small museum of his work on the Upper West Side.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

My God! This book is brilliant and Roerich on his travels noticed and seen things the way no other Asian explorer ever done before him. Extremely intelligent and open minded guy. Great notes from 5 years journey across Central Asia.

I like they way he writes about Tibet. Tibetan people got trapped in their tradition when the cities are dirty, there is filth everywhere and extreme poverty and yet still people bring gifts to their religious leader. Tibet is a backward country, using electricity on the streets of Lhasa is forbidden. Roerich reminds us that Tibet only adopted Buddhism when it already existed around Asia for almost a thousand years before.

[Наташа · Rating 3 out of 5]

Мне понравилась, хоть и не сразу. Неплохая книга. Такой себе увлекательный сборник интересных путевых заметок. Хотя, по началу уж слишком много автор шлет всем приветов. Потом, когда немного свыкаешься со стилем, эпохой и сквозной мыслью, "Алтай-Гималаи" приобретают свое очарование. Хотя, без легкой грустной иронии читать о чаяниях автора не получается, уж слишком мало изменений произошло в мире с тех пор. Вероятно, теперь он находиться от заветной мечты автора, гораздо дальше, чем ему тогда казалось.

[Marti · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very unusual and fascinating book. I obtained my new hardback copy from the Nicholas Roerich Museum (easily found on-line & on Facebook). Roerich records truly exciting adventures, boring days cooling his heels while awaiting travel approvals, fabulous scenery, and his personal thoughts and opinions on everything. The book also contains copies of many of his paintings. This is a book that is interesting on multiple levels!

[motherofafairy · Rating 1 out of 5]

boring, boring, boring,

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

[Naveen · Rating 5 out of 5]

a great read....