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TTBOOK: Searching for Shangri-La Michael Wood describes his journey through the Himalayas in search of Shangri-La. Ian Baker describes his eight separate trips to find the hidden waterfall at the end of the Tsangpo Gorge. Amy Tan takes on the comic misunderstandings that arise when Americans seek enlightenment in China. Caitlin Matthews relates various myths of a lost paradise and how we can find it within ourselves. Salman Rushdie wrote about Kashmir, an earthly paradise combining great physical beauty with a tolerant lifestyle. Michael Wood made a documentary film for PBS called "Shangri-La." The companion book is "In Search of Myths and Heroes." Wood tells Jim Fleming about his journey through the Himalayas, and we hear clips from the Hilton novel as realized by Hollywood.

Ian Baker is a world-class climber and explorer. He's also a Buddhist scholar. In his book, "The Heart of the World: A Journey to the Last Secret Place" he describes his eight separate trips to find the hidden waterfall at the end of the Tsangpo Gorge. It's the legendary gateway to Shangri-La. Steve Paulson produced this sound portrait of the journey.

Novelist Amy Tan takes on the comic misunderstandings that arise when Americans seek enlightenment in China in her novel called "Saving Fish from Drowning." She tells Steve Paulson the book also touches on serious issues like political repression in Burma.

Caitlin Matthews is a Celtic scholar and storyteller. She talks with Anne Strainchamps about the various myths of a lost paradise and how we can find it within ourselves. Matthews' books include "Singing the Soul Back Home," "Celtic Book of the Dead," and "Sophia, Goddess of Wisdom."

Salman Rushdie has a novel called "Shalimar the Clown." It's about Kashmir. Rushdie is from there and tells Steve Paulson that until recently, the area was an earthly paradise, combining great physical beauty with a tolerant lifestyle. He says the Islam of his grandfather was nothing like that practiced by today's extremists.