Customer Reviews

El Camino - CL (Penn State Series in Lived Religious Experinece)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

An inspiring travelogue of the ups and downs of the life of a modern pilgrim. Great reflections on spirituality, religion, modernisation, architecture, and travel in the modern age. Lots of practical tips can be gleaned from his experience of the walk. It was one of the first books I read about the pilgrimage before setting out myself this past fall. Hoinacki taught me that this pilgrimage, although not original, is certainly experienced uniquely by each person who decides one day to just put on a pack and start walking, like he did. He decided that chocolate would be too much of an indulgence for the pilgrim. So he never ate chocolate while he was walking. I did. And lots of it!!

P.S. I got my copy at Wide World Books and Maps in Seattle.

I was totally fascinated by this book. The descriptions of places and historical references were a great addition to understanding the signficance of the pilgrim's journeys, currently and in centuries past. The author's thoughts on technology, tradition, modernization and even aging were a marvelous commentary set against this ancient journey. As a result of a previous visit to Santiago and reading this book, I am even more moved to make my own journey on the camino.

This is a great book and is a very useful guide to the pilgrimage. It is hard to find, and Amazon is doing a great service in trying to provide it for pilgrims. However extracts from the book with very useful information can be found at the Telegraph Online London web site in the TRAVEL section. Look search under Yahoo for Telegraph Online and then Browse the many pages and articles on the pilgrimage found under the travel section. The book is fully reviewed in the newspaper's travel pages, the site has many useful useful facts about the pilgrimage including a FAQ

This is a great book and is a very useful guide to the pilgrimage. It is hard to find, and Amazon is doing a great service in trying to provide it for pilgrims. However extracts from the book with very useful information can be found at the Telegraph Online London web site in the TRAVEL section. Look search under Yahoo for Telegraph Online and then Browse the many pages and articles on the pilgrimage found under the travel section. The book is fully reviewed in the newspapers's travel pages, the site has many useful useful facts about the pilgrimage including a FAQ

While this book contains great descriptions of the camino, the refugios and the travelers along the way, I was unprepared for the screed against modernization and technology. Obviously, there are serious downsides to progress as we know it, but the relentless atttack on technology and the modern world borders on fanatical. It makes for a tiresome, if not predictable, read.

As travel writing, it's perfectly adequate.You do feel like you are inside his head, brushing up against his thoughts and perceptions, occasionally tripping on his prejudices as he ambles through the 500 some odd miles from the French border to Santiago de Compostela. If you do decide to pick up this book, make sure you also read something that presents the camino and the people on it through different perspectives. I'm sure you could find a book about the camino that is a little less judgemental.

As religious reflection, well, let's just say it's no Seven Storey Mountain and leave it at that.

I read this book while walking part of the pilgrimage route. It is a moving insightful book, really a meditation on what the pilgrimage route meant to him. It is not a guide book, but it was very meaningful to read and test my reactions against his. I highly recommend it.

This book is a superb book and a comfort for the Pilgrim
According to the dictionary, the word pilgrimage derives from the Latin peligrinus, meaning foreigner or wayfarer. It refers to the journey of a person who travels to a shrine or holy place.
Another older derivation, more poetic, reveals that pilgrim has its roots in the Latin per agrum: through the field. This ancient image suggests a curious soul who walks beyond known boundaries, crosses fields, touches the earth with a destination in mind and a purpose in heart.
The book is a true guide to that purpose.