Love in the Land of Fire (Shangri-La Book 1)

On May 13, , a military airplane carrying 24 officers male and female from Hollandia on a sightseeing expedition over the valley, crashes into a mountain base at the entrance of the valley. Thus begins our story. Through eyewitness accounts, newspaper articles, and military documents, Zuckoff pieces together a memorable rescue mission for the remaining three survivors of the crash. After surviving the crash, the officers have to contend with serious injuries, as well as the fierce natives, who are rumored to be cannibals, and who have never before seen people from the outside.

Zuckoff gathers first hand statements from descendants of the Logo-Mabel clan, as well as the Filipino-American paratrooper team of eight sent in to rescue. This read like a Hollywood screenplay, and was surprisingly comedic at certain points! Faced with limited food and serious injuries, not to mention the perils of the jungle, the survivors must find a way to get rescued or face travel over hundreds of miles of dense forest filled with warring natives and Japanese in hiding. Once they were discovered missing, the U.

Zuckoff has done his research, including recently discovered journals, military accounts, a visit to the crash site, and interviews with many participants and family members. He writes an interesting story, sticking to the facts, giving enough background to set the context without ever straying too far afield.

I cared about the people and was interested to find out what happened to them. He also honors those who died. The numerous historical photos were a bonus. Recommended to those with an interest in anthropology, the history of WWII, or stories of survival under extreme conditions.

May 03, A. Sowards rated it liked it Shelves: If there was snappy dialog, it was from a letter or a diary or an interview.

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And the characters were interesting. There were the three survivors of the crash: And there was the young paratrooper with something to prove sent to rescue them. But unfortunately, the only person the author could interview was the paratrooper, so despite the fantastic potential of reading a story about Maggie, McCollum, and Decker, the storyteller in me felt the tale lacked the details that could have taken it from ho-hum to awesome.

The book was the right size, it just had too much information on everyone on the periphery and not enough about the survivors doing their surviving. I wanted to know more of what they said to each other, more of how they bonded through their ordeal. Would I recommend it to others? Dec 29, Alex rated it really liked it Shelves: A plane crashes in WWII New Guinea, and this nonfiction book chronicles the increasingly ludicrous efforts to get them out of the hidden cannibal-infested mountain valley they landed in.

But with a story this terrific, all a writer has to do is stay out of its way. Zuckoff almost pulls that off Because he can't at all hide his A plane crashes in WWII New Guinea, and this nonfiction book chronicles the increasingly ludicrous efforts to get them out of the hidden cannibal-infested mountain valley they landed in. Because he can't at all hide his crush on pretty survivor Margaret Hastings, which zooms from zero to creep city faster than a plane zooms into a mountain.

Let me set the scene for this passage I'm about to quote: Hastings has just stumbled out of the plane wreck. She's terribly burned all over her body, in grave danger for her life, in unknown country, and surrounded by corpses so mangled they'll never be sorted out.

Radio Shangri-La

Here's what happens next: Margaret pulled off her khaki shirt. After that came her cotton bra. For a moment she was as topless as the native women she'd hoped to see Margaret pulled her pants back on over her naked bottom. She intended to use the panties' silky fabric to make bandages for herself and the other survivors. Zuckoff will bring up Margaret's panties about every other page for the rest of the book. She doesn't even use them as bandages, btw, that doesn't come up again.

But her general panty status - does she have underwear on? The army has forbidden white panties because, hanging on a clothesline, they could attract an enemy. As a bonus it comes with lots of pictures - the survivors actually documented their experience as it happened, which is amazing - but for some reason they neglected to document the whole underwear situation. View all 7 comments. Jan 27, Jeremiah rated it really liked it. Lost in Shangri-La is a simple, enjoyable story about a tragic plane crash and a subsequent rescue mission. It's a little slow at the start but after initial character introductions it's a smooth read.

The prose is straightforward, effective, and doesn't contain overwhelming details; just enough to engage your imagination although at some points in the book I wished for more detail about the lives of the natives. This may not be the greatest survival story ever but it's quite an interesting ad Lost in Shangri-La is a simple, enjoyable story about a tragic plane crash and a subsequent rescue mission. This may not be the greatest survival story ever but it's quite an interesting adventure and overall I really enjoyed this book.

Dec 18, Rachel rated it it was ok Recommended to Rachel by: This book is SO not what I was expecting. A plane goes down in New Guinea in WW2 and only 3 people survive and have to find a way out of the jungle surrounded by cannibals stuck in the Stone Age and perhaps rogue Japanese soldiers. Shouldn't that be exciting? It should, but this book is strangely unemotional, disconnected and boring. What tension the author tries to inject is obviously manufactured. Apr 09, Carol rated it really liked it Shelves: Lost in Shangri-la tells the true story of the fatal plane crash in May, of 24 U.

This incredible story details their encounter with the local natives, their horrific life-threatening injuries, and the dangerous conditions of the rescue mission while still adding in a bit of humor. Jan 06, Jen rated it it was amazing Shelves: I wasn't expecting much from this book. I had read a book similar in location and issue, "Savage Harvest" by a completely different author about Michael Rockefeller going missing many decades ago, but after the events in this book occurred. That book was rather terrible, so I didn't have much hope that this one would be any better.

It deals with WWII, which is my all-time favorite historical time to read about, so it rang that bell. It was abou I wasn't expecting much from this book. It was about human hubris and bravery and defying the odds, which I also liked.

It didn't shy away from the horrible things that happened to "Shangri-La" after it was "civilized". That part made me hate humanity, just a little. I have to say, this book strengthened my belief that they just don't make men and women like they used to in the ss. Like EVERYone was beautiful and handsome and brave and courageous and willing to do the right thing, rather than the easy thing. Again, I never lived then, so I'm only seeing the time period through rose colored glasses of someone else's making, so I'm sure it wasn't all bravery and beauty.

There were ugly things too. I just don't see it. I also probably studiously ignore it, because I see enough ugliness in the here and now. I don't want to see it back then too. I probably couldn't take it. Ok, enough navel-gazing, back to the book! I thought the book moved swiftly. It gave enough background so the reader understood what the people were experiencing and where they were coming from POV-wise, but not so slogged down in tangents that the reader forgot the initial point the author was making.

Where he could, the author interviewed those who went through the experience. Where he was unfortunately too late, he interviewed family and friends of the deceased, used letters, newspaper articles, declassified military documents and documents released via FOIA from the Government. He does his best to not put words or thoughts into the mouths of any of the participants, including the natives.

He went to Paupa and, via a translator, interviewed the natives and their relatives. He even made restitution for the country of the US of A to a native who lost a pig due to an airdrop gone wrong. The notes were terrific, the bibliography a list of my newly updated TBR and the acknowledgments so good, I actually read them too! I don't know if it was the topic of the Americans crashed and rescued out of a very difficult to reach spot, their interactions with the natives, how they survived, the time period and location of WWII in the Pacific or how it was written, but it all grabbed my attention and refused to let it go.

I must read more by this author and honestly, I don't feel the need to read more on the topic, as I feel the author covered it all thoroughly. I would like to read more about the natives though. See how they are faring. I suspect, not too well. That seems to be the case here. If the crash had never happened, could those people living in the valley have avoided the inevitable? I like to think in some parallel universe, they were never discovered and that they are still living their way of life. It wasn't a peaceful way of life, but it seems a lot better than what they are dealing with now.

Five huge, got my attention and kept it stars. There is death and injury, this IS about a plane crash and the aftermath and the natives were cannibals, but it's not in your face or gratuitous. It's very matter of fact and not sensationalized. Too many extraneous details.

Author was not good as the audiobook narrator. This is a true story - a good story. I liked the substance of it. It was more like journalism than a story. The author did too much background detail on various char Too many extraneous details. The author did too much background detail on various characters who were not the main characters. It was kind of boring in the beginning. It was hard to keep track of the many characters.

Some of the back stories were about people who died in the plane crash. He did a back story about women who died at other times and places during World War II - that did not interest me. Although it was a tangent from the main story. I wish the author talked more about the natives and their beliefs and habits. One thing that continues to trouble me: By the time they are old, some of them have only thumbs left.

She was one of the plane survivors. She got away before they could. Apparently this was a way to appease the gods. The men fought other men with spears. Was this a way to keep women from having power over men? Another horrible custom of men subjugating women. There are pictures in the paperback book. The author should have made a PDF of those pictures to go with the audiobook. The author should not narrate his own book. He is not a professional narrator. He read it like he was reading an encyclopedia - at times like he wanted to get done with it.

At times his voice had a whining quality.

View all 4 comments. Apr 27, Elyse Walters rated it it was amazing. Grab some "Color-by-color" hard candies reds, greens, yellows, and so on , start sucking and start reading this book! Wow--What an adventure ride. I thought I was waiting to read this book WHY??? I KNEW I wanted to read this book the first week it was released when I just happened to be in Barnes and Noble and discover it myself 'before' hearing others talk about it Why did I wait? I had just read "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand I also read This story is sooooooooooooooooo damn engaging I could not stop reading.

I tried --but couldn't. My poor husband he had to make his own dinner last night. I was fine to just "suck-on-some-candy" and keep reading! I love this quote on page by Margaret Hastings: We could never understand each other's language.

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But we could always understand each other's hearts and intentions. The greatest miracle that befell McCollom, Decker and me, aside from our escape from death in the crash, was the fact the natives were good and gentle people. Amazing Author for an outstanding well-written book! Authors make a huge difference in the world! Sep 22, Saleh MoonWalker rated it really liked it Shelves: As the blurb states, three months before the end of WWII, a military plane on a sightseeing tour a perk for the Military staff crashes in a remote and unvisited part of of the Indonesian state of Papua - this is the western half of the main island of Papua New Guinea.

At the time, this was under Dutch control, as with all of Indonesia, which became independent immediately after the Japanese surrender - so while this was all happening. The plane was a Douglass DC-3, known during the war as a C- As the blurb states, three months before the end of WWII, a military plane on a sightseeing tour a perk for the Military staff crashes in a remote and unvisited part of of the Indonesian state of Papua - this is the western half of the main island of Papua New Guinea.

The plane was a Douglass DC-3, known during the war as a C Skytrain, on board were over twenty people, only five of whom survived the impact, and only three the first 24 hours after. This is a very factual description of what happened, there is no embellished, no assumed conversation and as such reads a little unusually, but maintains its legitimacy this way.

All content is verified and traceable, which makes this remarkable story all the more interesting. Some reviewers were perhaps put off by the somewhat stilted writing style, but for me it wasn't an issue. I found it was a quite exciting read. While the actual events were without doubt written in an exciting manner, there were periods of time where they were simply recuperating from their terrible injuries gangrene effecting the plane crash survivors as much as their initial injuries , where the book turns to more anthropological writing - how the Americans interpreted the natives, and how the natives interpreted the Americans!

There was also content covering the history of the region as it has actually been explored previously. There are some really interesting aspects to this story, but I won't touch on many, as they would give away large sections of the story, and ruin for a prospective reader, but one of the themes that was carried through much of the text was the lack of recognition given to the Filipino American soldiers who, along with their American leader parachuted in and effected the recovery of the survivors.

Particularly the medics, who parachuted directly into to the terribly challenging, but mostly unknown situation to be with the survivors immediately on their discovery. While all of the Filipinos eventually received medals a Bronze Star for most, the Soldier's Medal for the two medics, and Earl Walter, their Captain - this being the highest non-combat award , the story of the crash and rescue mission was big news, and the Filipinos received only passing mention.

As could be imagined, the press went crazy over the Margaret Hastings, and her time trapped in the Valley with the soldiers, and of course the stone-age natives. The natives were Dani and their whole interaction with the soldiers was interesting, and a unnavigable maze of confusion and misunderstanding, right from the start when the soldiers though the natives took them as women when really they were feeling their clothes, having thought they were covered in mud through to the belief that they were spirits and not humans at all.

On the other side, the Americans took the natives as a peaceable tribe, when in fact the Dani had agreed with the neighbouring tribes that they would not only not attack the spirits, but would not battle each other until they had left. Had the natives considered the soldiers people, they would have been killed in the first few days. What really made this book was the interwoven explanations from the contemporary Dani who explained what the natives side of events were, and explained some of the confusions.

Well paced, this had the right balance of background and action, was written in a flowing narrative which made it easy to follow events and progress. Nov 18, Brian rated it really liked it. This is the kind of story that if it weren't true would be completely unbelievable. Zuckoff writes well, and the narrative has just the right amount of back story to flesh out a page-turning yarn. Apr 03, Jenny Reading Envy rated it really liked it Shelves: I know the Baliem Valley because that is where the Dani people live, and I have read multiple books about them. They are the group Michael Rockefeller photographed before traipsing into the jungle for art, that Peter Mattheiessen wrote about in the Really more 3.

They are the group Michael Rockefeller photographed before traipsing into the jungle for art, that Peter Mattheiessen wrote about in the s, that Robert Gardner made a documentary of, that Jared Diamond continues to study to this day and were a featured element of The World Until Yesterday: I have been immersed in it! Long isolated from industrialization and just beginning to open its doors to the modern world, Bhutan is a deeply spiritual place, devoted to environmental conservation and committed to the happiness of its people—in fact, Bhutan measures its success in Gross National Happiness rather than in GNP.

In a country without a single traffic light, its citizens are believed to be among the most content in the world. To Lisa, it seemed to be a place that offered the opposite of her fast-paced life in the United States, where the noisy din of sound-bite news and cell phones dominate our days, and meaningful conversation is a rare commodity; where everyone is plugged in digitally, yet rarely connects with the people around them. Thousands of miles away from everything and everyone she knows, Lisa creates a new community for herself.

In this smart, heartfelt, and beautifully written book, sure to please fans of transporting travel narratives and personal memoirs alike, Lisa Napoli discovers that the world is a beautiful and complicated place—and comes to appreciate her life for the adventure it is. From the Hardcover edition. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Lisa Napoli has lived for the last dozen years in southern California, where she was inspired to write this book by a public artwork with a mysterious provenance.

In her three decades as… More about Lisa Napoli. Radio Shangri-La is much more than just a story of a midlife crisis. Only better, if for no other reason than the writing here is just so sharp and terrific…Journalist Napoli writes stylishly about physical and spiritual renewal. Part travel memoir, part crossroads handbook, Radio Shangri-La is unforgettable. The book is delightful reading—honest, moving and quietly spiritual as it offers both an intimate portrait of a country only halfway to modernity and a soul in quest of meaning.

Pilgrimage on the Path of Love is one of those rare novels that manages to combine great storytelling with genuine and profound spiritual insights and experiences in a completely natural way. The essence of the book is about the search for the truth of life, and for supreme love, both human and divine. Written in autobiographical style, I found the prose so vivid and immediate, that I really entered into the experiences of the narrator, Shantila Martin, an American woman writer living in the UK.

She visits India for the publication of her first book, and finds herself on an unexpected journey. Her experiences of the vibrancy of Indian life in Delhi, and later in Manali and Ladakh, are vividly depicted, and descriptions of the scenery of the Himalayas are breathtaking, reminding me of the wonderful paintings of Nicholas Roerich. We are also able to share in her experiences of its astonishing beauty and spirituality, and enjoy her many meetings with interesting and remarkable people.

The descriptions of the transcendental nature of her own meditation are beautiful, and one feels this must be the first hand experience of the author. As the book gains momentum, all of her experiences together - painful, blissful and reflective, combine to help her unfold deeper and deeper layers of realisation of the true nature of love, and of the ultimate unity of all life. It shows that genuine desire for spiritual growth can transform all our lives to higher states of consciousness. This book was a really inspiring read.

I missed it when I had finished it, and am looking forward to more from this author. Truthful, touching, vulnerable always to an impossible ideal, until that ideal undergoes its inevitable transformation and finds fulfillment. You can't imagine this story, it has to have been lived. Beautifully and honestly told. I had the great fortune to meet the author, Barbara Briggs while at a meditation retreat in India. I am so impressed with her book. Barbara weaves a tale of love, hope, disappointment, hardship and moments of beauty and fulfillment. It is a very personal account of her innermost feelings, experiences and thoughts.

For anyone on the spiritual path this book is very insightful and at the same time so enjoyable to read. Her vivid descriptions of life in India, the temples and her journeys show the rest of us what it is like to be a dedicated seeker. Her devotion, steadfastness and serenity are inspiring. She has a very good understanding of Indian culture and shares stories and explanations of their customs, their devotion to deities and their way of life.

She delves into their culture and finds the silence within. It's clear to see that Barbara is enchanted with the spiritual side of India and describes beautifully her experiences of higher states of consciousness. I realised that each moment contained all we could ever seek to know, to feel and to believe. Each moment contained perfection.

Pilgrimage on the Path of Love

Written lucidly, this book is the perfect amalgamation of spiritual awakening and self-discovery. The protagonist found herself by connecting to her inner Divine, at every challenge she faced in the new land. Coming to India to get her first book published, Shantila expected to be hosted by her publisher, who later refused to let her stay with him. Looking for shelter, she eventually becomes a guest at a Buddhist Center in Delhi. Surrounded by lamas, she finds herself nestled in Divine love. Seeking solace in this very Divine love, she travels to Manali, Manikaran and finally, Ladakh.

Travelling through the northern landscape of India, she meets strangers who become channels of divine for her — a love she had set out to seek in India.

What I Discovered on my Accidental Journey to the Happiest Kingdom on Earth

What stands out in the narrative is her utmost optimism and unshaken faith in God. When faced with difficulties, she surrenders herself to Him and derives energy from her firm belief that the right path will be illuminated by the Creator. While meditating, she delves deep within to reflect on her painful past. This helps her understand the true nature of the unfulfilled love she had experienced in her life.