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stewg's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
thomcat's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this collection of tales of the first non-asians to enter Tibet. Many published their own accounts later, but this was an excellent summary, and had the pacing of a thriller at times. It took me only seven days to read it in my few off hours.
With two major libraries near me, only one had a beat-up copy in the central archives, acquired thirty years ago. I am glad the person who dog-ears either stopped reading after the second chapter or gave up the habit. I just wish the food-eater had done the same - but unfortunately speckles of stuff were found all the way to the end.
This book deserves to be reprinted and possibly updated.
With two major libraries near me, only one had a beat-up copy in the central archives, acquired thirty years ago. I am glad the person who dog-ears either stopped reading after the second chapter or gave up the habit. I just wish the food-eater had done the same - but unfortunately speckles of stuff were found all the way to the end.
This book deserves to be reprinted and possibly updated.
piratequeen's review against another edition
5.0
This was an excellent book, and brilliantly written. The stories of the Western explorers who attempted to reach Lhasa all read like an adventure novel, thanks to Hopkirk's skill with the pen. I've long had a fascination with central Asia and the history and cultures of places like Tibet and Nepal, and this book has whetted my appetite for more. For anyone who shares my interest in the region (or who fancies himself an armchair explorer, as I do), I can't recommend this more highly.
sande_ep's review against another edition
5.0
A page turner, brilliantly written and absolutely enthralling. If you're fascinated by the history of man's exploration to the mystical land of Tibet, this is the book for you.
anfribogart's review against another edition
5.0
Nell'800 il Tibet era uno stato chiuso nel senso che non voleva avere rapporti con il resto del mondo per cui non aveva ambasciatori, non ne riceveva, non dialogava con gli altri stati e anche se formalmente era soggetto alla Cina imperiale di fatto era uno stato indipendente. Che idea romantica e assolutamente anacronistica, soprattutto se ci pensiamo oggi nell'epoca della globalizzazione. Il Tibet faceva rispettare questo principio sia sorvegliando i propri confini sia facendo affidamento alle barriere naturali che già di per sé lo isolavano in modo quasi inespugnabile. Terra di guerrieri e asceti, il Tibet era consapevole della propria fragilità e voleva a tutti costi preservare cultura e religione da qualunque contaminazione esterna.
Ma tra la fine dell'800 e l'inizio del '900 il Grande Gioco (la sfida tra Inghilterra e Russia per il predominio nel medio e lontano oriente) fece sì che questo isolamento dovesse essere rotto.
Il libro di Hopkirk ripercorre tutto questo periodo, dai primi eroici esploratori che si avventurarono in un territorio sconosciuto e inospitale, poi l'invasione inglese del 1904, per arrivare all'annessione nella Cina comunista del 1950.
Ma tra la fine dell'800 e l'inizio del '900 il Grande Gioco (la sfida tra Inghilterra e Russia per il predominio nel medio e lontano oriente) fece sì che questo isolamento dovesse essere rotto.
Il libro di Hopkirk ripercorre tutto questo periodo, dai primi eroici esploratori che si avventurarono in un territorio sconosciuto e inospitale, poi l'invasione inglese del 1904, per arrivare all'annessione nella Cina comunista del 1950.
jeanetterenee's review against another edition
4.0
This author is an outstanding historian and an excellent storyteller. His great strength is in sharing the history without including the boring details that only serious historians find interesting.
The book starts with an explanation of why the Tibetans historically guarded their borders and the holy city of Lhasa so carefully. Then the book describes a series of expeditions large and small that crossed the borders illegally and attempted to reach Lhasa. The Tibetans were fierce and vigilant, and the attempts were repelled. Eventually the British succeeded by using military force, and established outposts in Tibet.
The latter part of the book details some of the early attempts to reach the summit of Mt. Everest (known to Tibetans as Goddess Mother of the World) from within Tibet.
There are also some little-known accounts of harrowing experiences during WWII. One I found especially interesting was about a WWII plane that crashed near Lhasa in a storm. Those aboard didn't even know they were in Tibet.
The book ends on a sad note, telling of how the Chinese Red Guards took over Tibet and set about destroying all that was good or unique about it.
There's a lot of fascinating information about the old culture of Tibet in this book, also. They were primitive and tribal, and very superstitious. Not at all like the "Shangri-La" image a lot of people have of the Forbidden Land. Their traditional greeting was to stick their tongues out at each other as far as they could, flat against their chins! There's even a picture in the book of them doing this.
The book starts with an explanation of why the Tibetans historically guarded their borders and the holy city of Lhasa so carefully. Then the book describes a series of expeditions large and small that crossed the borders illegally and attempted to reach Lhasa. The Tibetans were fierce and vigilant, and the attempts were repelled. Eventually the British succeeded by using military force, and established outposts in Tibet.
The latter part of the book details some of the early attempts to reach the summit of Mt. Everest (known to Tibetans as Goddess Mother of the World) from within Tibet.
There are also some little-known accounts of harrowing experiences during WWII. One I found especially interesting was about a WWII plane that crashed near Lhasa in a storm. Those aboard didn't even know they were in Tibet.
The book ends on a sad note, telling of how the Chinese Red Guards took over Tibet and set about destroying all that was good or unique about it.
There's a lot of fascinating information about the old culture of Tibet in this book, also. They were primitive and tribal, and very superstitious. Not at all like the "Shangri-La" image a lot of people have of the Forbidden Land. Their traditional greeting was to stick their tongues out at each other as far as they could, flat against their chins! There's even a picture in the book of them doing this.
zerobot's review against another edition
3.0
A very readable account of Tibet's history in terms of foreigners for about half a century. Some places fall dry and Hopkirk assumes the reader knows a fair amount about British history, but otherwise I was glad to have read it.
The major failing comes in the editing, as a major element of the book is in the particular ways that the individuals travel through Tibet, where maps would have been INCREDIBLY useful. Unfortunately, the maps, of which there are only two, not only fail to show any routing information for the individual excursions, they nearly fail to show anything at all. I never managed to find Lhasa on either of them.
(It's funny because Hopkirk often mentions that books from travelers to Tibet that didn't contain maps were often considered useless at the time)
Also, the pictures seem to be inserted nearly at random and I was constantly flipping back and forth. I know there are printing limitations, but please, have some self respect.
The major failing comes in the editing, as a major element of the book is in the particular ways that the individuals travel through Tibet, where maps would have been INCREDIBLY useful. Unfortunately, the maps, of which there are only two, not only fail to show any routing information for the individual excursions, they nearly fail to show anything at all. I never managed to find Lhasa on either of them.
(It's funny because Hopkirk often mentions that books from travelers to Tibet that didn't contain maps were often considered useless at the time)
Also, the pictures seem to be inserted nearly at random and I was constantly flipping back and forth. I know there are printing limitations, but please, have some self respect.
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