Customer Reviews

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

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If you have had any Shangri-La type illusions about Tibet, this book will soon blow them away. Not that that is a bad thing, but just be warned. This book will open your eyes, 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.

After reading this, I believe (and HHDL must realize) that 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 and the presence of HHDL.

I do highly recommend this book.

This is an excellent source for anyone interested in Tibet politically. It provides a picture of Tibet before, during, and after the Chinese invasion. I find it very surprising, (and disturbing)that this book is out of print, given the renewed interest in Tibet and efforts to liberate the country from Chinese occupation. What was done (and is continuing to be done) to the people of Tibet should be part of our daily conversations right now, as we are about to grant China permananet normal trade relations.

This book, is among the very best accounts of the terrible tragedy that has been Tibet for nearly 50 years. Fascinating reading for anyone interested in Tibet. I have read this book twice and look forward to reading it again. Cynics may try to put a pleasant face China's occupation of Tibet, but this book tells it straight. Read it, you won't be sorry.

A must read to truly understand the complex story of Tibet, although it may disuade you from ever going there. This is the story of the destruction of Tibet, told through a narrative of political history and a few well-chosen personal stories. Internal squabbling contributed to the Tibetan's own downfall, but in the end this small underdeveloped nation could not have withstood the Chinese without significant support from the rest of the world, and that support was shamefully lacking in the 50's. The destruction that followed was unbelievable. I've always thought it would be fascinating to go there, but I now realize that the treasures of Tibet are probably now in China or in the hands of private collectors after the Chinese sold them off, and what's left is part of a carefully constructed show for tourists. I agree with the reviewer who says that Tibetan independence seems a long shot at this point, but the world should keep the pressure on until the Tibetans gain some measure of cultural and religious freedom. My only criticism of this book is that it ends in the mid-80's, and the newer edition that came out in the late 90's contains a rather feeble attempt to update the story through a chronology. Interesting though is the interview with the Dalai Lama.

If your serious about learning about Tibet and the Chinese take- over read this book.Some of the more explicit chapters made me really angry and kept me questioning "How can humans treat each other this way"?

This is a very well written and moving account of one of the most tragic stories in modern history, the brutal suppression of the religion and culture of Tibet. While it's true that the Cultural Revolution brought suffering throughout all of China, Tibet bore the brunt of the destruction due to the devotion of the Tibetan people to their Buddhist religion and traditions. Of the more than 5,000 Buddhist monasteries in Tibet prior to the Chinese invasion and occupation in 1950, fewer than 20 remain intact today. Most were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution, and while the Chinese government has recently allowed a few to be reconstructed for the sake of tourist revenues, the heavy-handed suppression of the Buddhist religion continues to this day --- punctuated by periodic "re-education" campaigns in the few remaining monasteries. The Communist party line insists that the Tibetans needed Chinese "help" to emerge into the modern world, but the only real beneficiaries of whatever economic "progress" they've brought to Tibet have been the millions of ethnic Han Chinese who've been induced to migrate to Tibet during the occupation. For anyone interested in the plight of Tibet, "Exile From the Land of the Snows" is essential reading.

John Avedon's book is about half devoted to the Dalai Lama himself, and the other half to other persons exiled from Tibet, as well as the story of Tibet's traumatic occupation by Communist Chinese. This book should not disappoint you, even if you were expecting a more biographical account of the Dalai Lama. Avedon tells a very moving story of exile, political oppression, and conflict. The brutality under Mao's occupation is as unimaginable as the justification for invasion was absurd. Those wishing primarily to understand the situation of the Tibetan occupation and exile, and also how the Dalai Lama fits into this context, should read this book. You will learn in vivid detail what the Tibetan people have experienced. Avedon's style is not academic, but very readable. I highly recommend the book.

I bought my hardback copy in 1985, and have re-read parts of it many times since.

It may be easy for both of the involved parties to react with nationalistic fervour and outrage, but this book is about the real personal history of humble and peacful people. It is a warning to all who live in the comfort we take for granted, that it is possible to lose everything, and have the rest of the World turn away.

The book covers the historical facts in a straight forward and detailed manner. It also covers the legal questions arising from the occupation with expert opinions from international jurors.

Avedon can't help showing compassion for the subjects of his account, he is only human. It is this very humanity that makes the book so readable and genuine. It does not condemn the wonderful people of China, but exposes the reality of life under a compassionless regime. This book is a reminder that tyranny is not such a remote concept, but the experience of millions.

This is a well-written, engrossing account of Tibet through the Chinese occupation which not only introduces the reader to the fascinating socio-religious culture of the country itself, but recounts the personal experiences of some of the survivors who made their way out of their homeland across the Himalayan Mountains into Nepal. Particularly interesting passages about how the Dalai Lama is "re-discovered" after a new incarnation. I read this book several years ago, and many of its references are still fresh..

Probably this book has not been read in recent times as much as it was before. The reason is that it practically stops at 1985 with a small attempt of updating to 1997. For an historical essay that relies greatly on updated information on a dramatic world situation such as that of Tibet and that still has written on the cover "the definitive account of the Dalai Lama and Tibet since the Chinese conquest" this is a major drawback. However, John Avedon's 500-page book has really represented a milestone for the awareness of the West on Tibetan reality and the crimes and genocide carried out by the Chinese. In the 1980's it was the most read book on Tibet and practically the only updated, precise, journalistic source of all information. If anyone remembers Bertolucci's "Little Buddha" on the airplane to India the boy's father is reading this book! Having been such a great bestseller it is natural that it has slightly passed out of fashion. But this takes nothing away from its value. If you want a readable, engrossing, historical narration of the last years of Tibet's freedom, to the 1955-59 Chinese invasion and especially of what happened from 1959 to 1985 to the refugees in India and to the prisoners in Chinese jails, up to the apparent "normalization" of the 1980's and the visits of the Tibetan delegations to their native land, this book remains the best document around.
One of the main narrative themes is how Tibetans and the Dalai Lama managed to maintain their cultural and religious heritage and only regarding to this aspect there is a wave of optimism running through the book.

John Avedon had a personal relationship with the Dalai Lama and was also interested in Buddhist philosophy and Tibetan culture, so the first journalistic part of the book, mostly built up out of life experiences of eminent Tibetans who survived the genocide, is followed by brief essays on Tibetan medicine, the report of a pilgrimage to Buddha's sites in India by the Dalai Lama, and a personal interview with HH on the philosophy of Buddhism, its outlook on death, life and personal experience. This last part is interesting, but it is detached from the principal narration and it seems introduced only to lengthen the book or to cram into it all the Author's knowledge. The notes and the bibliography are excellent even though dated.

A must read for those interested in modern Tibet, but it would be more honest to subtitle the re-editions "Tibet from the Chinese conquest to the 1990's".

I am looking for a book that tells what has been happening in the last 10-15 years. Have any suggestions?