Nine-Headed Dragon River: Zen Journals 1969-1982.

Boston, MA Shambhala Publications, Inc., 1985. Hardcover First Edition (1985), so stated. First Printing indicated by a complete numerical sequence. First Edition (1985), so stated. First Printing indicated by a complete numerical sequence. UNDERLINING IN PEN AND PENCIL in the first chapter. Else, Very Good+ to Near Fine in a Good DJ: The Book shows a thin line of faint dampstaining to the head of the backstrip; else - but for the pen and pencil work - flawless; the binding remains square and secure. Free of any creased or dog-eared pages in the text. Free of any ownership names, dates, addresses, notations, inscriptions, stamps, plates, or labels. A handsome, if flawed, copy, structurally sound and tightly bound, showing only a minor, unobtrusive imperfections - and again the pen and pencil work. Bright and clean. The DJ shows light wear to the extremities and moderate rubbing to the panels; two tears to the bottom edge of the front panel (1" and 3.5 inches); the price is intact. Serviceable we suppose, but does not enhance the attractiveness of the book. NOT a Remainder, Book-Club, or Ex-Library. 8vo. (9.35 x 6.35 x 1.2 inches). xv, 288 pages. Language: English. Weight: 22 ounces. Hardback with DJ. In this hauntingly beautiful book, renowned explorer, naturalist, and novelist Peter Matthiessen describes his highly personal quest for a spiritual path. Written in journal format, it chronicles his quest for spiritual roots from his first meeting in the driveway of his home in Sagaponack, Long Island, in 1969 with "three inscrutable small men," who turned out to be Japanese Zen masters, to his 1982 pilgrimage to Japan as a Buddhist monk, Matthiessen writes openly and candidly about his struggles for self-understanding. In beautiful and moving passages he tells of the illness and subsequent death ofhis wife and his gradual reawakening to life through Zen. Interspersed with his own story is a history of Buddhism in America and lyrical descriptions of nature. Observant as ever of the tiniest creatures around him from the moth to the dragonfly, Matthiessen brings alive the beauties of Japan and the Japanese people in a completely fresh and startling way.