Galaxy of Fire

Rating:
Summary: The Riviting Story of a Man's Man
Review: The mark of a truly great memoir is how deeply it allows us to look into a life. The actual events may be mundane, but if seen with great clarity and understanding, even an "ordinary" life story can be enlightening. Latham's story had this quality. He holds nothing back--even in circumstances where we might wish that he had. But there was nothing mundane about Jay's life. He lived life full-throttle, pedal to the metal, from Marine boot camp to his treks to the Himalayas to find God.
To find God--the phrase is ripe for parody. But Jay did seek God. And I think he found Him, not in the exotic Shiva temples of Uttarkashi, but in the temple of his own heart. We flinch as we read of his trials--his experiments with drugs, his failed love affairs, his disconnection from Western civilization where, more than anywhere else, it is the God of Money that is worshipped. Once, in Rishikesh, a poor man, who was riding with his family on a bus, asked Jay what he was doing in India. Jay told him that he was on a pilgrimage. The man exclaimed that Jay was a lucky man because poor men such as himself could seldom afford such a pilgrimage. He wondered what it could be like. Jay observed the harmony and love the family exuded, and remarked, sadly, "What it is like, sir, is like searching for what I think you already have."
That in a nutshell, is the story of Jay's life. Not fitting in the Marines, not fitting in the drug culture, not fitting in the church in which he was raised, and ultimately not fitting in the TM organization, to which he devoted nearly three decades of his life. He found solace in Nature where, at last, he discovered, "God (in actuality, my own highest Self) has never let me down whenever I have shown courage and sincerity in regards to seeing my path and walking it."
This is the man Jay Latham has revealed to us: as sincere as the jet stream above Annapurna, as courageous as a galaxy of fire. RIP.

Rating:
Summary: Hidden gem
Review: This is a powerful book by a true spiritual warrior. It is a shame that lacking promotion by the mainstream publishing industry, it may languish among a million
Amazon titles. The author died before his book was published, but anyone who can appreciate his journey from VietNam era Marine boot camp, through sex-drugs-and rock & roll, to God-realized experiences in the high Himalayas, will find inspiration in Latham's story.

Rating:
Summary: A really cool story about a guy finding himself
Review: This is a really cool book. The story is about a guy who, through the course of his life, finds his true nature while among the peaks of the Himalayas. Jay came to manhood in the US Marine Corp., and chronicles his story as a marine during the Vietnam conflict. Man, this story itself is a trip, and is worth the price of the book (they should make a movie of this).

But it gets better. After an experience such as the marine corp., what's left for a young man to do? The world of hometowns and the life of a young man are too small after seeing what the wide world has to offer (check out the stories of Okinawa, they will blow your mind). Jay's adventure of self awareness leads him into the heart of the TM movement (remember them? Maharishi was the guru of the Beatles.....don't ask "who are the Beatles"...if you don't know, then you don't belong here....:) :) Continuing, Jay spent many years as a teacher of TM, and made many friendships along the way--many of which are documented in the book. The latter part of the book follows Jay and others on their various journeys of discovery to the "holy" sites of northern India and Nepal. The descriptions of the landscape and vistas conjure up very real imagery for me, it's almost as if I'm there seeing it with the author.

Jay is a very down-to-earth writer, and his style is more conversationsal--almost like sitting around a fire and being told some great adventure stories, and you think to yourself...."damn, I wish I could have been there...". It's really that good. Jay has a great story and tells it like he's telling it to you personally, no hold barred, nothing held back. It's a hell of a lot more refreshing to read someting with such a spritual message and not have to wade through the pretension of some swami .... Jay is the genuine article, man. READ IT.

Rating:
Summary: A really cool story about a guy finding himself
Review: This is a really cool book. The story is about a guy who, through the course of his life, finds his true nature while among the peaks of the Himalayas. Jay came to manhood in the US Marine Corp., and chronicles his story as a marine during the Vietnam conflict. Man, this story itself is a trip, and is worth the price of the book (they should make a movie of this).

But it gets better. After an experience such as the marine corp., what's left for a young man to do? The world of hometowns and the life of a young man are too small after seeing what the wide world has to offer (check out the stories of Okinawa, they will blow your mind). Jay's adventure of self awareness leads him into the heart of the TM movement (remember them? Maharishi was the guru of the Beatles.....don't ask "who are the Beatles"...if you don't know, then you don't belong here....:) :) Continuing, Jay spent many years as a teacher of TM, and made many friendships along the way--many of which are documented in the book. The latter part of the book follows Jay and others on their various journeys of discovery to the "holy" sites of northern India and Nepal. The descriptions of the landscape and vistas conjure up very real imagery for me, it's almost as if I'm there seeing it with the author.

Jay is a very down-to-earth writer, and his style is more conversationsal--almost like sitting around a fire and being told some great adventure stories, and you think to yourself...."damn, I wish I could have been there...". It's really that good. Jay has a great story and tells it like he's telling it to you personally, no hold barred, nothing held back. It's a hell of a lot more refreshing to read someting with such a spritual message and not have to wade through the pretension of some swami .... Jay is the genuine article, man. READ IT.