The Global Soul - (Vintage Departures) by Pico Iyer (Paperback)

About the Book

From the acclaimed author of "Video Night in Kathmandu" comes this intriguing new book that deciphers the personal impact of globalization and the rising tide of worldwide displacement. The author presents Los Angeles International Airport as a "town", Hong Kong, and Japan, pondering what the word "home" means in the face of rapid change.

Book Synopsis

From the acclaimed author of Video Nights in Kathmandu comes this intriguing new book that deciphers the cultural ramifications of globalization and the rising tide of worldwide displacement.

Beginning in Los Angeles International Airport, where town life--shops, services, sociability--is available without a town, Pico Iyer takes us on a tour of the transnational village our world has become. From Hong Kong, where people actually live in self-contained hotels, to Atlanta's Olympic Village, which seems to inadvertently commemorate a sort of corporate universalism, to Japan, where in the midst of alien surfaces his apartment building is called "The Memphis," Iyer ponders what the word "home" can possibly mean in a world whose face is blurred by its cultural fusion and its alarmingly rapid rate of change.

Review Quotes

"Powerful and essential reading for anyone trying to understand the modern world."-Minneapolis Star Tribune

About the Author

Pico Iyer is the author of five previous books, including Video Night in Kathmandu and The Lady and the Monk. He lives in suburban Japan.