Customer Reviews

Gangotri - Journey to the Source

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What an amazing story. I've known Jim for more than 55 years and find incredible that he was able to change his life so dramatically.

Good luck Jim.

How skeptical would you be if someone told you that tapping some "inner force" at the core of your being could make you howl like an animal, cause your body to shake -- and maybe even levitate you six inches off the ground? Baloney, right? That's what Jim Starr thought, and even after he'd made his pilgrimage to the Ganges and visited a dozen ashrams, he still knew deep-down that those very strange things would have to happen to him personally before he could believe the inspirational tales of the supposedly enlightened.

Ultimately, Starr's considerable power as a writer and storyteller comes from his ability to relive his spiritual journey not as an "evolved" person, but as a doubter with the same mundane suspicions that you or I would have. Moreover, he is not out to convert us -- at least not in the way that some proselytizers do, with exaggeration, references to mythical auras, blinding epiphanies and such. Instead, he tells his story so straighforwardly and with such self-deprecating guilelessness that we are able to believe every word of it. He also spins quite a yarn, and the physical dangers he experiences making his way up the headwaters of the Ganges recalled for me the amazing "Snow" chapter in Thomas Mann's "Magic Mountain".

When I'd read the first few chapters of this book, I wanted to recommend it to my wife, a budding Taoist with painful back problems. But when I'd finished it, I wanted to recommend "Journey to the Source" to everyone I know, including my kids -- and to each for a different reason.

In the "Spiritual and Religious" category, there is probably no other book like this on the shelves. Everyone should read it.

In my senior year of high school, our English literature teacher warned all of us
future engineers that we would become philosophers some day, and we would most value his class when we finally
figured this out, even though we certainly disagreed at the time.
Perhaps if Jim's compelling "Gangotri - Journey to the Source" were available to us back then, we might have listened more carefully to this sagely advice.

Jim's deeply personal and inspiring story reveals his courage to explore and embrace spiritual possibility through his travels and adventures. Even if you're skeptical of all things new-age, spiritual, or supernatural, allow yourself the freedom to tag along on Jim's adventure.

How does one go from hating new age philosophy to fully embracing it? "Gangotri: Journey to the Source" tells the story of Jim Starr, a man with a serious injury and soon finds himself embracing spiritual teaching and how he made a pilgrimage to Gangotri, a small village in India, legendarily referred to as the source of the Ganges river. "Gangotri" is a fine pick and very highly recommended read for anyone who wants to read a journey into the new age.

Funny, thoughtful, couragous, surprising and real. This memoir is engaging, inspiring, honest and authenic. It offers real spiritual insight without preaching or feeling contrived in any way. For anyone who's never understood the path of following a guru, it offers a window into the power and magic that Jim must have experienced.

Jim's book is a deeply personal memoir in which he allows the reader to follow him through what seem to be some of the most meaningful and difficult years of his life. He overcomes so many fears, and so many of his prejudices are shattered. I read the book in one sitting, and I could tell just how much time and energy Jim spent pouring his heart into it. It really got through to me. I experienced my own (miniature, in comparison) journey while reading; I found the scenes of travel in India particularly moving, and the climax of the book nearly left me in tears. I felt as if I were there with Jim in some of the most passion-filled and important moments of his life. Thank you, Jim, for sharing your experiences with us. I think everyone can learn a lot from them, as I did.

I finished this book in two days. Literally, I could not put it down. I was late for meals, late for sleep, late for work, and late back from lunch! The story unfolds much as life, sometimes in seemingly random order, with bits of meaning leading towards an Ah-ha! Jim Starr is humble, honest and vulnerable in this work. As another human being sometimes confused, sometimes resistant and sometimes swept away by the currents of life, I am better and happier for reading this book and recommend it to all who might draw inspiration from a journey of body, heart, soul and time.

Jim really let me into his soul throughout the evolution of his journey. I felt like I was with him every step of the way. It sounds cliche but this is a must read for anyone thinking about embarking on, or already on, their own spiritual journey.

This book was special to me as I know the author and knew his wife Anne and have also spent about 6 weeks in India, albiet in a different area at a different Ashram. They were the last people I would have ever thought would end up with a Guru in their lives because they are/were so brilliant and logical. In high school Jim was Valdictorian and Anne Salutatorian of our graduation class. Two highly intelligent people. So reading this book was such an eye opener on how spirituality comes to you when you least expect it and in fact are not really looking actively for it. Jim describes his feelings and insights so simply and with such heartfelt honesty that you can almost feel what he is experiencing. He is so honest about the 'stuff' that comes up for us mere mortals when we are put in certain situations, like trying to deal with beggars, or being so amazed that dinner can cost so little. It bought back for me some of the same experiences I had that Jim and Anne had while they were there. I know what Jim meant when he said Anne didn't share with him much about her feelings, just walked around with a sweet smile on her face. That described me exactly. I'm known for being a chatterbox, and when I was in India I hardly spoke to anyone, no more words then were necessary. I loved the sense of peace I felt, which Jim describes beautifully. I loved this book and I will recommend it to other friends who are thinking of going to India or who have been to India. I cannot wait to read it again, thanks Jim for having the courage to write about your experience and your feelings so honestly. AVBB

The author takes the reader on a very personal journey, that I believe will resonate with most men. He does an excellent job of interveaving his past experience, current circumstances, along with the hopes, wants, and uncertainty of his future. There is a very spiritual thread throughout his story that many can, and I'm sure will interpret in a variety of ways. But in the end, while the specifics of the journey may be different than our own, something about it feels eerily kindred to the journey most of us are on. - Brett Nickal