Pico Iyer

"From one of our most astute observers of human nature, a far-reaching exploration of Japanese history and culture and a moving meditation on impermanence, mortality, and grief. For years, Pico Iyer has split his time between California and Nara, Japan, where he and his Japanese wife Hiroko have a small home. But when his father-in-law dies suddenly, calling him back to Japan earlier than expected, Iyer begins to grapple with the question we all have...

After thirty-two years in Japan, Pico Iyer can use everything from anime to Oscar Wilde to show how his adopted home is both hauntingly familiar and the strangest place on earth. "Arguably the world's greatest living travel writer" (Outside). He draws on readings, reflections, and conversations with Japanese friends to illuminate an unknown place for newcomers, and to give longtime residents a look at their home through fresh eyes. A Beginner's Guide...

Recounts the author's life-long obsession with Graham Greene's writings on the experiences of being an outsider, which informed both the author's travels and his private explorations of his relationship with his elusive father.

A timely documentary that raises urgent questions about how we travel and the unintended cultural and environmental consequences of tourism around the globe. Gringo Trails follows well-worn travelers' routes through Bolivia, Thailand, Mali, and Bhutan and reveals the complex relationships between colliding cultures, such as the host countries' need for financial security and the tourists who provide it in their quest for authentic experiences. Through...

A follow up to Pico Iyer's essay "The Joy of Quiet," The Art of Stillness considers the unexpected adventure of staying put and reveals a counter-intuitive truth: The more ways we have to connect, the more we seem desperate to unplug. Why would a man who seems able to go everywhere and do anything-like the international heartthrob and Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Famer Leonard Cohen-choose to spend years sitting still and going nowhere? What can Nowhere...

"Pico Iyer nos muestra en este libro como muchos han encontrado la verdadera riqueza en la quietud, desde Marcel Proust hasta Blaise Pascal pasando por Phillipe Starck. Explora también una verdad contraria a la intuición como que mientras más posibilidades tenemos de conectarnos, más deseamos desesperadamente desconectarnos. En las dos charlas TED que ha dado reflexiona sobre la razón por la cual tanta gente acude a técnicas como el yoga, la...

"In this wide-ranging collection of essays, stories, graphic memoir, and cross-genre work, writers explore the deeply human act of kissing." -- From book jacket.