The author ofAll the Way to Heavenchronicles his journey up the Ganges River in search of the headwaters of this most sacred of Indian waterways, exploring ancient myths, remote towns, long-lost temples, and the way of the pilgrim. 15,000 first printing. Bookswagon.com Review Garhwal, boasting the four sources of the Ganges River in northern India, must qualify as one of the most sacred stretches of land in the world, and novelist Stephen Alter transports us there in his travelogueSacred Waters. Countless pilgrims make the same trip every year, but whereas they now travel by bus, Alter does it the old-fashioned way, trekking to each of the headwaters on foot. Since this is also Alter's birthplace and childhood stomping grounds, we couldn't ask for a better guide. He knows each species of plant, bird, and beast by name and tells the grand tales of Hindu mythology associated with the ancient terrain. Fluent in the local languages, he also makes us privy to his chats with pot-smoking sadhus, greedy Brahmins, simple nomads, and pilgrims that he meets along the way. Although Alter has the tendency to slip into the emotionless detachment of a journalist in his descriptions, there remains enough wonder at the power of the natural landscape and color in the fantastic myths to makeSacred Waters a trek worth taking.--Brian Bruya From Booklist Alter invites readers to join him on a double journey, deep into the Indian subcontinent and deep into the Hindu faith. Simply as a travel chronicle, the narrative sparkles, every episode rich with sharp detail and piquant incidents. We sit by the smoky fire of a wild-looking but gentlesandhu and meet a Muslimguijjar in search of a camera to photograph a herd of buffalo decimated by lightning. But Alter delivers more than unlikely characters in memorable landscapes: myth by myth, he unfolds the secrets of a complex spiritual heritage. Each step of the journey occasions reflection on the ancient Hindu stories that have long nourished this land. Respectful but unsentimental, Alter highlights inspiring truths recorded in Vedic scripture but also exposes the increasing commercialism of the religion. Surprisingly, the spiritual culmination of the pilgrimage comes neither in the waters of the Ganges nor in a Hindu shrine. Rather, it comes high in the Himalayas, in the Valley of Flowers, where the author finds himself enveloped in solitary but transcendent peace.Bryce ChristensenCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Review "Stephen Alter has woven a fabric as exquisite as any sari from hissensitivity to the natural world, his knowledge of Indian history and myth,and his adventures in the riverine reaches of northern India."--Karen Swenson --Review About the Author Stephen Alter is writer-in-residence in the Program in Writing and Humanistic Studies at MIT, and was the director of the writing program at Cairo's American University. He is the author of four novels and a memoir, All the Way to Heaven, as well as the recently published Amritsar to Lahore.Stephen Alter is writer-in-residence in the Program in Writing and Humanistic Studies at MIT, and was the director of the writing program at Cairo's American University. He is the author of four novels and a memoir, All the Way to Heaven, as well as the recently published Amritsar to Lahore.