Author: Heinrich Harrer
Publisher: HarperCollins
Year: 2005
Language: English
Pages: 331
ISBN/UPC (if available): 8172236263
Description
Heinrich Harrer, already a famous mountaineer and Olympic ski champion, was climbing in the Himalayas when the Second World War erupted in Europe. An Austrian national, he was imprisoned by the British in India. With an almost super-human effort, he succeeded in escaping from the internment camp and fled into Tibet and the forbidden city of Lhasa, the first Westerner to lay eyes on this holiest of places.
For seven years Harrer learned the language and acquired a greater understanding of the Tibetans than any Westerner had ever before achieved. He became the fried and tutor of the young Dalai Lama and finally accompanied him to India when he fled the Red Chinese invasion. A travel-writing landmark, this is a stunning story of incredible courage and self-reliance set against the backdrop of a mysterious and magnificent culture.
REVIEWS
This is an absorbing and remarkable travel tale that also gives unparalleled accounts of the life and customs of an inaccessible region.
-Sunday Times
Some books, like some mountains, are lonely and unrivalled peaks. This is one of them.
-Economist
Contents
MESSAGE FROM THE DALAI LAMA
INTRODUCTION BY PETER FLEMING
PREFACE
Internment
Escape
Into Tibet
The Village of Happiness
On the Move
The Worst Trek of All
The Forbidden City
Calm Waters
Asylum Granted
Life in Lhasa-I
Life in Lhasa-II
An Attempted Coup d’Etat
Commissions from the Government
Tibet Prepares for Trouble
Tutor to the Dalai Lama
Tibet is Invaded
I Leave Tibet
EPILOGUE