Read lost horizon online

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Read Lost Horizon Online You can Download on this link Hilton’s bestselling classic about a man who stumbles on the world’s last great hope for peace: Shangri-La Hugh Conway saw humanity at its worst while fighting in the trenches of the First World War. Now, more than a decade later, Conway is a British diplomat serving in Afghanistan and facing war yet again—this time, a civil conflict forces him to flee the country by plane. When his plane crashes high in the Himalaya mountains, Conway and the other survivors are found by a mysterious guide and led to a breathtaking discovery: the hidden valley of Shangri-La. Kept secret from the world for more than two hundred years, Shangri-La is like paradise—a place whose inhabitants live for centuries amid the peace and harmony of the fertile valley. But when the leader of the Shangri-La monastery falls ill, Conway and the others must face the daunting prospect of returning home to a world about to be torn open by war. Thrilling and passionate, Lost Horizon is a masterpiece of modern fiction, and one of the most enduring books of the twentieth century.

Reviews The story of a group of people who survive an airplane crash in Tibet and find shelter at a mysterious monastery is extremely well known, but unlike most


novels, Lost Horizon is less about its characters and their siutation--interesting though those elements may be--than it is about their thoughts and ideas. Written as it was on eve of World War II, these thoughts and ideas center upon developing a way of life that preserves, rather than destroys, that which is finest in both humanity and the world in general. The

novel

is

elegantly

and

simply

written

and

possesses

tremendous

atmosphere. Although enjoyable as a purely "fun" read, it is also thought provoking, and the thoughts it provokes linger long after the book is laid aside. I can not imagine any one not being moved by the book, both emotionally and intellectually, regardless of their background or interests. If such a person exists, I do not think I would care to meet them.

Although James Hilton wrote a number of worthy novels, Lost Horizon is the novel for which he is best remembered, a great popular success when first published and a genuine masterpiece of 20th Century literature.

================================================== I first read Lost Horizon about fifteen years ago at a low point in my life, when I was going through a period of doubt as to whether my career was making progress and, if it was, whether it was worthwhile. I picked James Hilton's little novel up on a whim and found this story of a man asking himself some of the same questions and being confronted with an enviable alternative a really pleasing and thought provoking work. Within a few months I had worked through most of my own feelings of disillusionment and went on to enjoy the best years of my teaching career. I can't say Hilton's little book was a huge influence on me during that period, but reading it when I did did give me some new energy and hope to get past some dark times.

Lost Horizon is the story of Conway, a young British official in an enviable position of power and influence who nevertheless feels somewhat distant and at a loss as to what to do with his life. Chance or fate brings him with some


companions into a mysterious lamasery high in the mountains of Tibet, where a different life path reveals itself. James Hilton wrote some very appealing fiction, including one of my favorites Goodbye Mr. Chips, but Lost Horizon's beautiful story ranks far above them all.

It's important to recall that Lost Horizon was written in the early 1930s, a very dark period in world history, and that inevitably flavors the story. There's a sense of approaching doom and cataclysmic destruction (even more remarkable when we remember that it was written before the Nuclear Age). In contrast the life offered by the residents of Shangri-La is one of peace that necessarily involves hidden, permanent, seclusion. We might not all make the choice Conway makes at the end, but it is certainly understandable why he made it. Lost Horizon may seem to be a light book which can be easily read in a few hours, but the atmosphere it evokes and the questions it makes us ask ensure that it will linger within us for much longer.

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