Sacred Sea tells the story of an unforgettable journey to an extraordinary
place. More than a travelogue, the book is a meditation on faith and home and purity in a world marked by contamination and impermanence. For anyone who has ever thought of ditching it all and heading for the middle of nowhere, Peter Thomson offers a lesson both unsettling and surprisingly hopeful: there is no
escape from humanity.
—David Baron, former NPR science reporter and author of
The Beast in the Garden: A Modern Parable of Man and Nature
Dreamy, melancholy but ultimately hopeful... Exhaustively researched and lyrically written—a welcome addition to any library.
This is one swell adventure story--and not just for its fine and poignant stories of travel. It's also an intellectual adventure, about the future of one of the earth's most iconic places. A classic of its kind!
—Bill McKibben, author, The End of Nature, Wandering Home, and
Hope, Human and Wild
The book is beautifully written and his descriptions make the landscape come alive. I couldn’t help shivering when he jumps into the lake. As you travel with him you’ll be transported far, far away – the perfect antidote to a dull day at the office.
Peter Thomson has written an irreverent, impassioned, deeply personal memoir about one of this planet’s most magnificent remaining natural treasures. Sacred Sea is a naturalist’s love-song to Russia’s “sacred sea,” a wandering son’s meditation on his family’s footloose history, an experienced eco-journalist’s indictment of how we squander our birthrights, and a gifted observer’s comic commentary on Americans, Russians, and most people in between. This book, however, is much more than a reminiscence, travelogue, or environmentalist tract. Thomson’s comments should be required reading for any Westerner visiting Siberia, but Sacred Sea transcends Lake Baikal, Russia, Asia, Europe and North America. This is one man’s lyrical document of the universal human odyssey through ugliness, beauty and inner discovery; it is a wry survey of the environment now inhabited by any denizens of Earth who find themselves in possession of a conscience.
—Thomas Hodge, chair, Wellesley College Russian department, and translator of Sergei Aksakov’s Notes on Fishing
Thomson... combines introspection with objective reporting in this engaging account of his six-month pilgrimage to Siberia’s Lake Baikal, the deepest, oldest and supposedly purest body of fresh water on earth.... a lucid and sobering reminder of the destructive effects human activity has on the planet.
...A portrait of a place, its people, and its problems. It’s also an honest look
at how far we have to go to get home again.
...Absorbing in its detail.
... A strong book that is as much about the sacredness we carry with us
as it is about a “sacred sea.”
