Road Reads

"American Pilgrimage: Eleven Sacred Journeys and Spiritual Destinations," by Mark Ogilbee and Jana Riess

BOOK: "American Pilgrimage: Eleven Sacred Journeys and Spiritual Destinations," by Mark Ogilbee and Jana Riess (Paraclete Press, $16.95)

TARGET AUDIENCE: Seekers (and aren't we all?).

The term "pilgrimage" gets tossed around casually in travel writing, but as this book demonstrates, there is a difference between it and mere tourism: When a pilgrim leaves a destination, it's as a different person. And there's no need to travel abroad -- to Lourdes, for example -- when the humble shrine of St. Jude awaits in Chicago, or a trip to New Mexico will connect you with the "holy dirt" of the Santuario de Chimayo.

Most of the sites described are Christian, but the concept of pilgrimage extends to New Age and Buddhist centers and, with a bit of stretching, Elvis's Graceland. And a Billy Graham Crusade (the pilgrimage that comes to you). Ogilbee and Riess are generally positive about the experience, conceding apparent failures but noting that sometimes the seeking is more important than the finding. While they are definitely "glass is half full" people, if there is another, more cynical take on the pilgrimage process, they'll at least acknowledge it. And, one assumes, pray for the cynic.

-- Jerry V. Haines