Customer Reviews

Pioneer in Tibet: The Life and Perils of Dr. Albert Shelton

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The author says it best. "Shelton was a complex creature, a man who craved both adventure and social esteem, a doctor who practice medicine intermittently, a missionary who seldom preached, a devout family man who endangered himself and his family in a perilous post" (page 214)

Wissing has written a fine biography of Albert Shelton, a frontiersman from Kansas and the founder of the first missionary station in Batang, Tibet in 1908. The borderlands between Tibet and China in those days were a battleground and Shelton entered into the fray as a missionary, hunter, collector and seller of Tibetan antiquities, interpreter, and advisor to Tibetan rebels. He became famous in America, especially after being held captive by Chinese bandits for more than a month.

The author covers the complex politics of both the Tibetan marches and the missionary establishment. Shelton is not altogether an admirable character; he seems more interested in constant exploration and collecting art treasures than he does in spreading the Gospel, and he obviously basks in his fame. His dream was to be the first Protestant missionary in Lhasa and he was on the road to achieving that when he met his dramatic end in 1922, an end that befitted the character of the man.

If you're interested in Tibet, missionaries, and China this is an excellent book to read. Shelton could be a prototype for a somewhat more pious version of Indiana Jones.

Smallchief

Wissing accomplished the task of flattening the Himalayas with his two dimensional portrayal of the Sheltons, the Chinese, the Tibetans, and the continent of Asia. He glossed over the Unequal Treaties, Opium War, or any other conflicts with the West that would cast doubt on the altruistic motives of the missionaries and ruin his "feel good" story. The book lacked any perspective to place the Sheltons in, and thereby deprived a lot of their work of meaning. I was left with no clue that they rode out a two revolutions, that Dr. Shelton was a great diplomat, or even how high up Tibet is, other than an occasional sideways reference. There was a lot of potential for a very good and interesting book about Dr. Shelton, but either by accident or intent it was left with the substance of a "Chicken Soup" book.

The story of Albert Shelton, a Disciples of Christ Missionary in China/Tibet, is an inspiring tale of one who truly gave himself for the people God called him to serve. Shelton was a pioneering doctor who went to a remote area and in so doing changed the world that came after him. Good read. Doug Wissing is a versatile and engaging writing.

Well, people didn't like my review, so I guess I'll just have to rewrite it. :P Here goes:

In response to the other reviewer's comments, this is a book about a man's life in a place and a time. It's not a book about the political climate of a land during a certain span of years (though I thought the author did include enough information to paint a sense of context). Take this excerpt for example:

"countless goods made their way via this route, but by far the most important was tea. Tea was China's most valuable export to the Tibetan, Turkic, and Mongolian peoples who formed an arc at the periphery of the Celestial Kingdom. The brick tea trade was integral to Chinese-Tibetan commerce, politics, military history, and social intercourse. The trade dated back to the late Tang Dynasty (618-907), when the first loads of tea..."

You make the call. I know a good amount about Tibet, it's height, and its history already. Like I said before, if you want to know more about Younghusband's violent push into Tibet's interior, well sorry, that's not the focus of this book--It's about Albert Shelton. But if you don't know anything about Tibet, maybe you'll feel as the other reviewer did--fair warning (though I do disagree with him). I myself would have liked to seen more detailed maps of the cities and routes that Shelton traveled along (though there are maps, they're just not thorough enough).

I thought that Wissing's account did a good job of displaying what a certain missionary's life was like in Tibet during the early 1900's. Far from painting the picture of an altruistic superchristian, at times Wissings account left me lamenting Albert's poor choices. In the beginning he seems to be an adventure hungry, inexperienced person. It take him and his family years to even like the Tibetan culture and not to look down ethnocentric noses at it. Thankfully it isn't as prevalent today in missionary circles, but back then people were often ignorant of other cultures and at times horribly nationalistic. It is really sad to hear accounts of those who never really got the Apostle Paul when he said "I become all things to all people, that I might win some to Christ". I personally found it intriguing to see this change in Shelton.

The book also has many interesting accounts of exchanges between Shelton and the Tibetans. The meeting of two cultures, and two faiths, had amazing results at times. With Tibet's relcutance to change in general, I wouldn't be surprised if these were things one could still experience if they went to the right places. There is also an interesting look through Albert's journal into a Christian man's dealing with imminent death and intense pain while he was being hauled around by bandits who kidnapped him. That is a personal account that you won't find the likes of most places and the worth of the book could be found alone in that.

I refuse to go into a detailed account of Shelton's general life because I believe the "book description" above does a well enough job, and you can read that.

Lastly, Wissing is a journalist. He writes well, and the book is pleasing to read (as far as biographies go--if you not a biography person, why are you even bothering?). Like any biography it has its share of facts and the recalling of accounts, but I think Wissing did a good job of balancing everything out in a way that rarely overwhelms the reader.