Beyond the House of the False Lama: Travels with Monks, Nomads, and Outlaws – A Harrowing Zen Adventure from Mongolia's Gobi Desert to Hurricane Sailing

by George Crane

Beyond the House of the Lama, now in paperback, traces Crane's adventures as a writer, wanderer, and anarchic but still failing student of Zen. It begins in 1996 at the edge of the Gobi Desert in Inner Mongolia, where he and his teacher and friend, Zen Master Tsung Tsai, are forced by a sandstorm to end their quest to find the lost temple at Two Wolf Mountain. It continues with a harrowing, near disastrous attempt to deliver a ratty, 58 foot ferrous cement sailboat to Granada. Setting sail from Key Largo into the heart of hurricane season, with a crew of eccentrics and outlaws, led by the infamous Captain Bananas. They run with a disintegrating sailboat into the perfect squall. The tale ends in the winter of 2003, when after weeks of desert travel, Crane and his companions–––the nomad Jumaand and the young, beautiful Mongol girl Oka, his bed mate and bodyguard–––stand beneath the remote cliffs of Delgaz Khaan in Outer Mongolia's South Gobi. Here, Crane, after burying his long dead father, sets out on a new quest, looking to find what the nomads call Windhorse, "the beginning of the wind," but finds what every nomad knows, that every road is more a direction than a destination.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Buddhism

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Writer, journalist, editor and world traveler holds a Bachelors from the University of Illinois in English Literature and Art History and a Masters in Creative writing from San Francisco State University. He has taught at Manhattanville College, University of Indianapolis and has given seminars and readings around the world (New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, Athens, Paris, Prague, Bucharest and at the 2008 International Writers Conference in Bulgaria.) He is author of two internationally acclaimed memoirs, Bones of the Master: A Journey to Secret Mongolia (Random House/Bantam Books) and Beyond the House of the False Lama: Travels with Monks Nomads and Outlaws (Harper Collins). Besides nonfiction, he has translated poetry from the Chinese, A Thousand Pieces of Snow; and an upcoming novel, Never Been Killed, Never Been Eaten: A False Memoir (HarperCollins). Crane’s screenplay, an adaptation of his book, Bones of the Master, has been optioned and is currently in pre-production by Random Acts Entertainment. His writing has been translated into 16 languages.

Reviews

[Philip Wyatt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot more personal than the first book, we follow George Crane's later adventures after searching for the 'Bones of The Master'. This time it feels more like a mid-life crisis on acid; George seemingly self-destructive without Tsung-Tsai as an anchor in his life, abandoning the safety and security of family to throw himself out into the world, trying to find some kind of unknown answer and meaning, only to drift like a ship lost at sea.

But that is what makes the book so good in my humble opinion. George Crane's writing remains strong, even if there seems no real point to his meanderings this time around, his journey is more akin to seeing a car crash and finding ourselves unable to look away. But beyond the carnage, we can draw some inspiration from some of his life lessons, even if he doesn't seem to learn any himself!

For those searching for some meaning in life, I would proffer these parables over any kind of self-help book. We all feel like George at some point in our lives, but not many of us try and do something about it. 8/10

[Rudy Seifert · Rating 1 out of 5]

George Crane presents a thoroughly unlikable image of himself, a man who was given numerous opportunities, beyond any good luck , merely to squander them by proving that he was good enough to begin with, growth neither wanted nor needed.

[Joselle A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good adventure. Kind of amusing. Thinks he stretching it a bit, but good escapism.

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

A-

[Helmut]

Schon allein der Titel lässt vor meinem inneren Auge rauhe Landschaften, wilde Personen und Abenteuer ohne Ende entstehen... wenn das Buch das halten kann, bin ich mehr als zufrieden.

[Jeremy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A different style of travel book with written by an interesting fellow.

[Chris Lowe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hedonistic, self-indulgent, spiritual, wonderful!!

[Kelly McGuire · Rating 1 out of 5]

The author is so arrogant and the writing pretentious. Couldn't finish it.