No question, one of my all-time favorite writers has to be the great Tahir Shah, a man who approaches travel writing from a completely unique perspective. Not quite a travelogue, yet also not quite a full-blown paranormal activity report: when describing his books, I can only say that Shah seems to have a knack for finding adventure in the most random places and subjects. I’ve read at least half of his bibliography so far, so it was incredibly difficult to select just one favorite.
Of course there’s “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”, where Shah travels across India to master the tricks of the trade used by that country’s faith healers;
And then there’s “The Caliph’s House”, in which Shah describes how, through the process of moving his family to Morocco, he somehow acquires ownership of an ancient, haunted mansion;
Or what about “Trail of Feathers”, where Shah heads off to South America in search of the mythical “Birdmen” of Incan legend?
Honestly, you could pick up any of Shah’s books and quickly find yourself drawn in, although I have to say that one of my all-time favorite books is “In Search of King Solomon’s Mines.” The story begins in Jerusalem of all places, in one of that historic city’s many tourist traps. Unimpressed by an endless display of dusty replica antiques and relics, Shah finds himself unexplainably drawn to a wrinkled map, one that the shopkeeper claims shows a trail to the lost gold mines of King Solomon. Undeterred by the probability that this “ancient” map was more than likely fresh off the laser printer, Shah allows it to guide him on towards the heart of Ethiopia, in an epic quest for Biblical treasure!
I hope I’m not giving away any spoilers by revealing that in the end, no, Mr. Shah was not able to excavate priceless Christian artifacts, or recover billions of dollars’ worth of gold bullion. But the story of “King Solomon’s Mines” still seemed to resonate with me, probably due to my (as yet) unsuccessful mission to unearth the lost treasure of Byron Preiss.
But in any case, I think most of us can identify with the true sentiment behind this book: sometimes, even if you don’t actually get to claim the treasure, the thrill of the hunt is reward enough. Whatever you’re looking for, keep searching!