In Exile from the Land of Snows: The Dalai Lama and Tibet Since the Chinese Conquest.

London, UK Harper Perennial, 1994. Paperback First Ed thus; First Printing indicated. First Ed thus; First Printing indicated. Near Fine in Wraps: shows only the most minute indications of use: binding very slightly cocked, but remains perfectly secure; text clean. Just a hint of wear to extremities; mildest rubbing; pages tanned a bit. Close to 'As New'. NOT a Remainder, Book-Club, or Ex-Library. 8vo. 383pp. Trade Paperback. If you have had any Shangri-La type illusions about Tibet, this book will soon blow them away. This book will make you laugh, weep, clench your fists and probably curse before you're done, but it will not leave you unchanged, either in your opinion of Tibet, the Dalai Lama, and especially of China. This is a very balanced account from the Tibetan perspective of the period roughly from the end of WWII until 1990. In addition to an unvarnished account of Tibetan bravery, desire to retain their homeland at all costs and credulity, and unlimited Chinese brutality and treachery, there is a great deal of social insight woven in. This is not a "feel-good" story to garner sympathy for the Tibetans, this is a tell-it-like-is book whose message is so daunting that I'm not sure most of the world, much less the Tibetans themselves are ready to face much of it. This is not a book so much about religion, although you cannot write about Tibet without writing about Buddhism, as about world politics thundering down on a small, isolated nation. It is about the bravery and resourcefulness of the Tibetan people and the greatness of their leader. And it is about the utter shameless cupidity and determination of the Chinese to lay hold of this strategic bit of real estate and anihilate its native population. This book should serve as a powerful reminder of what the PRC is capable of and just how much their talk is worth.The chances for any kind of an autonomous, much less independent, Tibetan region are slim to none, but that the facade needs to be kept up for political and morale reasons. None the less it is a bitter truth that the Chinese have done the rest of the world a favor: by driving the Tibetans out of Tibet, they have released a great force for peace and good to the rest of us in the form of Tibetan Buddhism His Holiness the Dalai Lama.