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Summary: What a great story
Review: I really loved reading this book. I think that Jamie Zeppa has a wonderful gift for communicating her joy and inocence at the start of the experience that grew to a deep and realistic love of the country and the people by the time she ended her time there. I read this book in one day. It was impossible to put down once I had started.
Rating:
Summary: Well written and honest
Review: I can say that this book is utterly honest because I was Jamie's student for two years in Bhutan (in the college). She brings out the facts without fabrication and when I read her, I can relive my experience and my adolescence even though I cannot go back.
Th Situation that Jamie talks about, for em, forms the cornerstone of the book because the situation has transformed the lives of so many Jamie knew. It was somewhat disappointing that she did not talk about it in detail but it was impossible to do so. If she had, we would not have had this book, probably. May be Jamie should come out with another book that tells the story of the people she knew while this book has told of her own experience.
Jamie, wherever you are, thanks for being honest and not taking sides while painting life as it was in Bhutan and letting so many special people and special cultural aspects live in your book. You have preserved the Bhutan that was in your book...unfortunately it no longer exists even though the government and western visitors pretend that it does. Please Keep writing.
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Summary: Beyond the Earth and Sky-Journey into Bhutan
Review: When I find myself looking forward to nothning ,
but picking up my book again, it's clear that I've happened on something compelling. This was the case with Journey into Bhutan. I completely fell into it , ingnoring most of what was going on around me until I'd finished. I fell in love with Bhutan alternately moved and amused by Ms. Zeppa's account. In the telling of her story, Bhutan comes alive as a mystical ,but very real place.
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Summary: An immersion in Bhutan
Review: This past spring I took a fascinating three-week birdwatching tour across Bhutan, a beautiful isolated Buddhist kingdom high in the eastern Himalaya Mountains. Since returning home I've found that Ms. Zeppa's book about her adventures as a young teacher well off the beaten path in eastern Bhutan contains probably the best descriptive accounts available of the current look and feel of this fascinating landscape and culture--it's another world. I recommend it high on the list of "should reads" for anyone considering a trip there and especially those curious about what it's "really like" beyond the usual tourist haunts.
Rating: 
Summary: broadened horizons
Review: The sign of a good book is that it has the power to change how you think. Jamie Zeppa took me on a journey to a new culture and I fell in love with the people of Bhutan. Her story is heart-warming and engaging. I shared a number funny stories about her cultural adjustment and her wonderful young students with my sons. They begged me to read more. I must agree with others that the latter third of the book isn't nearly as good as the first two thirds, but by then I was already touched by Bhutan. The latter part, however, highlighted the truth that there is no true Shangri-La. Every place has its problems.
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Summary: Amazing journey that should have been extended.
Review: An engrossing memoir of Jamie Zeppa's journey into Bhutan. Like Jamie, I had never travelled outside my native country in my early twenties so it was easy to relate to her initial misgivings about moving to this remote land--and this kept me turning the pages. Her beautifully written descriptions about her students and their families, their customs, and the picturesque landscapes made me feel like I had actually been there with her. The big disappointment in the book was the abrupt ending. Jamie should have spent time sharing her experience in marriage just like she did with Bhutan. Regardless, this is a great way to travel to Bhutan without leaving the comfort of your home; although once you read it, you'll likely want to make a visit.
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Summary: very interesting perspective
Review: Very few books get written on Bhutan. Very few westerners get to live in Bhutan. The ones that come as reporters come with their own baggage and perception of what Bhutan is. Very few people are balanced when it comes to reporting and writing about Bhutan and her people. Some people abuse the special karmic connection which brings them to Bhutan and her people, up close and personal. Bhutan is no doubt a special place on earth. It is therefore not a surprise that the writer of this book faced some hardball problems when putting her thoughts together. But Zeppa's love for the people and country comes shining in the pages of the book. That is the testimony of the author's sincerity to the people who opened the doors of their houses. Thank God, there are people who appreciate the kindness and the generosity of the Bhutanese.
Rating:
Summary: Honestly written
Review: After reading "Beyond the Sky and Earth" I felt I had a better understanding of Bhutan as a western traveler would see it. Criticism has been made about Jamie Zappa's morals and actions in Bhutan but I was happy she was honest about her conflicts with the culture. We all wish to be politically correct travelers in a foriegn land but when living in a culture for three years and seeing injustices, staying out of it has got to be difficult. I began reading this book thinking Jamie Zappa was not going to make it on her journey to Bhutan but was pleasantly suprised to see her work through her own mistakes and issues and give her reader an real account of life in Bhutan. Jamie Zappa does not claim to be perfect or make all the right choices and I think we learn more about ourselves and Bhutan because of it.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Start but typical Ethnocentric white person
Review: While I enjoyed the beginning of the book, the middle and ending were tedious. I loved the exploration of culture and all that is Bhutan until Mz. Zeppa forsakes her school and travels to the university. I thought it rude to desert what she started out and learned to love (the remote village). When she gets to the university, fights with coworkers, tries to change the Bhutanese women, I felt badly for all that is western culture. I am tired of people going to the east and trying to impose their culture, social morays, and precepts. I truly feel sorry for the child that is split between cultures and lacking a true essential - father - in life. Please do not buy this book and further subsidize White Ethnocentrism.
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Summary: Better luck next time
Review: I'm afraid I have to agree with those who found this book disappointing. I've long had a fascination with the country of Bhutan, but this book seems to have little to do with it. It comes across more like a whiny memoir from a privileged westerner more interested in complaining about her problems (many of them brought on herself) rather than giving anyone real insights into Bhutanese society, culture or history. Like others, I found myself amazed at the rather caviler attitude Zeppa displays in the book about many of her decidedly unprofessional actions. Despite my assessment of this book, I actually would be interested in reading another from the same author -- perhaps one written on the same subject when she has grown up some.
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