Spring Reading List: Member recommendations
With the arrival of Spring we bring you a new reading list, with recommendations from our members ranging from classic to contemporary. Enjoy!
Eat the Buddha
“Just as she did with North Korea, award-winning journalist Barbara Demick explores one of the most hidden corners of the world. She tells the story of a Tibetan town perched eleven thousand feet above sea level that is one of the most difficult places in all of China for foreigners to visit.”
In Exile from the Land of Snows
“In this gripping account, John F. Avedon draws on his work and travels with the Fourteenth Dalai Lama to bring us the riveting story of Tibet and its temporal and spiritual leader. Included is an extensive interview with the Dalai Lama, who speaks about the conditions in Tibet, the mind of a Buddha, and the events of his life.”
Forbidden Memory: Tibet during the Cultural Revolution
“Leading Tibetan writer Tsering Woeser presents three hundred previously unseen photographs taken by her father, then an officer in the People’s Liberation Army, that show for the first time the frenzy and violence of the Cultural Revolution in Tibet. Found only after his death, Woeser’s annotations and reflections on the photographs, edited and introduced by the Tibet historian Robert Barnett, are based on scores of interviews she conducted privately in Tibet with survivors.”
Tibetan Transit
“In the 1990s Dutch-Australian writer Lolo Houbein, drawn to Tibet since childhood, finally visits the country that has inspired her for so long. She meets villagers, farmers, nuns, monks, beggars and undertakers and discovers a land richer in beauty and spiritual wealth than she ever expected.”
Voices in Exile
“An invaluable account of the Tibetan community living in exile and what it means to be a Tibetan in today’s world. There are an estimated 150,000 Tibetans in exile around the world, primarily in India, who have no country to call their own. Together, they have kept the issue of Tibet alive on the global agenda through non-violence and compassion, a rare achievement inhuman history.”
Vanished Kingdoms: A Woman Explorer in Tibet, China, and Mongolia 1921-1925
“Janet Elliot Wulsin travelled in a National Geographic expedition with her husband and a party of many people and animals. Her observations are very interesting. Even more notable are the photos in the book – it’s mainly photos with little text. Apparently they were permitted to photograph inside some of the monasteries and shrines. Sadly most of the constructions have been destroyed so photos are the only documentation remaining.”
– ATC member
Magic and Mystery in Tibet
“The first book about Tibet that I read. It describes the travels and learnings in Tibet by a female French explorer who claims that she became a lama. It’s an entertaining read.”
– ATC member
“Magic and Mystery in Tibet tells the story of a French orientalist’s experiences in Tibet, among lamas and magicians. It is neither a travel book nor an autobiography but a study of psychic discovery, a description of the occult and mystical theories and psychic training practices of Tibet.”
Memories of Life in Lhasa Under Chinese Rule
“Born in 1941, Tubten Kh’tsun is a nephew of the Gyatso Tashi Khendrung, one of the senior government officials taken prisoner after the Tibetan peoples’ uprising of March 10, 1959… In this eloquent autobiography, Kh’tsun describes what life was like during those troubled years…Kh’tsun talks of his prison experiences as well as the state of civil society following his release, and he offers keenly observed accounts of well-known events, such as the launch of the Cultural Revolution, as well as lesser-known aspects of everyday life in occupied Lhasa.”
Last Seen in Lhasa
“Some go to Tibet seeking inspiration, others for adventure. The award-winning journalist, Claire Scobie, found both when she left her ordinary life in London and went to the Himalayas in search of a rare red lily. Her journey took her to Pemako, where few Westerners have set foot and where the myth of Shangri-la was born. It was here she became friends with Ani, an unusual Tibetan nun who was to change her life.”
Thank you to our members who shared their recommendations! See our Summer Reading List and Winter Reading List for more book about Tibet.