Thus begins the story of the author at the age of 21, when he happened to sit next to Ed Spencer, a brilliant 70-year-old ex-Harvard professor turned wandering holy man, who makes this offer within an hour of their meeting on a Greek ferry. Though unsure whether the old man is some kind of a bum or a realized being or both, he agrees to go with this enigmatic stranger whose credo is: "Take the money out of your pocket and put yourself in the hands of the Unknown." When they arrive at the border and Ed passes the money exchange with hardly a glance, Shor begins to understand the gulf that separates the old man from the rest of humanity. The ensuing journey takes us on an epic trip by foot into the heart of South India and then to the Himalayas where the author makes his first contact with the Tibetan people. Into the Hands of the Unknown has been revised and has a new Postscript describing Shor's subsequent encounters with Ed Spencer. The book was originally published as Part II of Windblown Clouds.
