Customer Reviews

A Tibetan Revolutionary: The Political Life and Times of Bapa Phüntso Wangye

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This is a book of unique interest to anyone more concerned with Tibet than with Shangri-la. Phuntso Wangye reveals himself to Melvyn Goldstein as a man of unique vision, courage and energy. The picture he creates of Eastern Tibet in the forties and fifties is fascinating in its detail for anyone seriously interested in how things came to their present pass in Tibet today. His qualities of creativity and endurance and his ability to hold and explicate complexity are dazzling. He was there. He acted. He learned, thought, studied and survived.
It is also one of a number of records of those who matured through the experience of solitary confinement. His personal courage and clarity make him a natural brother to Nelson Mandela and others who have found their own sanity in the most extreme of conditions.

I have read the book twice now and appreciated its richness more the second time around. Read it and you'll see.

One's respect for Phüntso Wangye grows as one reads this book. This remarkable man went from simple origins to grounding the Tibetan Communist Party, held important posts in the Chinese Communist Party, finally becoming a leading Marxist dialectician. He was closely involved with all the important figures in the Tibet-China question over 5 decades including Mao, Zhou Enlai and the Dalai and Panchen Lamas. He was a fearless proponent of the Tibetan and Khampa identity throughout, while remaining an internationalist, suffering for his integrity with 18 years in solitary confinement. He finally has gained the respect of parties on all sides of the question, while being very clear about his alignment with the CCP.