'In Search of Shipki La' is Announced

Shipki La is an offshoot of the Silk Road that functions as a trade mountain-pass between Tibet and India. While this may seem like a trivial fact, the mystery comes in when one considers that only residents of the pass are allowed to traverse it.

Author John Pollard has made at least two failed attempts to enter Shipki La, but with no luck the area has become an inspirational mystery to him. He chose this land of legend as the driving force for his new mystery novel, "In Search of Shipki La."

"My wife and I have made three major car journeys between the U.K. and Asia," Pollard said. "Our first trip from England to India in the late 1960's found us entering so many presumably hostile or otherwise mysterious areas that I began to think about what would happen if someone we knew went missing along this trail."

"In Search of Shipki La" follows a young American who leaves the country to escape being drafted in the Vietnam War, but suddenly disappears after last being seen in Afghanistan. His family hires investigators, but despite all their efforts the trail goes cold. 35 years later new information surfaces and the investigation is reopened taking the private detectives to new and dangerous locales.

"I want my book to be seen as both an enjoyable mystery read and a fascinating look at unusual travel destinations shown through the lens of time and transformation," Pollard said.

The book takes readers through the U.S., Australia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Thailand, Laos, India and Tibet. With the insights of a traveler and so many exotic places shrouded in historical mysticism, one man's family must battle through a world of roadblocks to find him.

"In Search of Shipki La"
By: John Pollard
SC-ISBN: 978-1-4931-0573-1
SC-Retail price: $19.99
Available at barnesandnoble.com and amazon.com.

About the author

John Pollard was born in Sydney, received a Ph.D. in mathematical statistics from Cambridge, spent a post-doctoral year in Chicago and returned to Wales before taking his first U.K.-to-India trek. Pollard then became a full professor at Macquarie University, Sydney for 25 years as well as becoming dean of the Economic and Financial Studies faculty. He has written four major academic books that have been translated into multiple languages and written a previous travel book. Pollard and his wife still love to travel and have visited more than 60 countries.

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