Customer Reviews

Buddhist Himalayas

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book has the most beautiful photographs of the Himalayas that I've ever seen. The photographers captured the essence of this region in perfect, minute detail. Interspersed between the photos are articles written by prominent buddhist lamas and scholars, including HH the Dalai Lama. It demands its own book stand and place for display in your home. The book is very large. The photos are borderless and some span both pages. This is truly something to have to pass down in your family. For lovers of Buddhist thought and for those who just appreciate great photography.

The photos in this book are simply extraordinary. The composition of each shot is lyrically beautiful. The images of great masters are radiant and inspiring. The quality of the reproductions is wonderful and unusual (I think) in a book at this price. Anyone with a love of
Tibetan Buddhism should surely have this book. (By the way, I bought this in a bookstore and paid about twenty dollars more)

This is a gorgeous book with exquisite photography and interesting and sensitive text. The only problem was the poor quality of the binding which fell apart the first time I opened it. Otherwise i would rate it 5 stars.

First, the book is very well produced. The quality of the
book for this price is awesome. It should hold
up to good use. The reproduction of each and every photograph
is extremely good.
Quite a few of the photographs in this
book are exquisite. All the photographs are well composed.
It is obvious that the photographers have a special
sympathy to the subjects of their lenses -- as another reviewer remarked, there is a radiance about the subjects that comes through in the photograph. The photographs of people are great -- it is marvelous to see the reflection in the eyes of the subjects of what they are looking at. Some of the photographs
are so stunning that it is quite natural that other photographs
in this book do not quite live up to that impact. The text is
well written. Highly recommended.

As a photographer I would like to imagine that someday I would be able to produce a book like this one, as I feel that it captures perfectly the beauty, details, emotions, colors, traditions and above all the people of the Himalayas. I did not mind at all having to wait until the end of the book for the information and credits because when I purchase a 'coffee table' type book I approach it by looking at the photos first before any of the text. The double page format really enhances a viewers visual perception by allowing them in some way to be surrounded by the photographs and thus experience in part the scale of the great mountains dwarfing the figures of people or buildings in the foreground. I also love the 'chiaro-scuro' technique used to photograph many of the monks and other people-the dark background makes the colors and expressions 'pop' and draws all attention to the subject. The photographs are wide ranging between sweeping landscapes and intimate portraits.The text is informative and thoughtful to explain the cultural differences between the countries, villages, and ethnic peoples that live within the Himalayan range, as well as a primer on the philosophies of Buddhism.
I am so happy to have found this treasure of a book and will gladly share it with friends and family that want to know more about a land that I will soon travel to.

I purchased this somewhat expensive book with much anticipation, since I already owned The Spirit of Tibet, by Ricard. Buddhist Himalayas left me unsatisfied, chiefly for the reason that it's size and title suggest a more expansive survey than is offered by the experiences of the authors. Several of the photographs by the Follmis consist of plain and uninspired subjects. Numerous short essays, however, provide a more satisfying description of the world of Tibetan Buddhism. With the image of the re-incarnate Khyentse Rinpoche on the book cover, I come to the conclusion that this is one more book about the remarkable man the authors were privileged to know, but hardly justified by the contents.