Why does the myth of Shangri-La endure?
BAKER: I think in every culture, there is this millennial dream of some kind of sanctuary where the best of civilization on every level can be preserved. That’s what Shangri-La was. It was the “Valley of the Blue Moon,” a place where time no longer existed in the way we think of it, where we could live for hundreds of years. The concept of Shangri-La had an impact, whether consciously or unconsciously, on a whole generation. The book came out between the two world wars, a time when civilization as it was known was suddenly in question.
