The Story of Tibet: Conversations with the Dalai Lama - Softcover

"A significant contribution to the outpouring of recent writings on Tibet."

"Laird uncovers a history of Tibet not found in other books about the country."

"Thomas Laird captures the beauty, the magnificence, the humor of this world spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama."

"This is the Dalai Lama's personal look at his country's past as well as a summary of his life's work as the leader of the Tibetan people."

"You get a strong sense of the Dalai Lama's personality, culture, and beliefs. There are Insights, too, into how the Dalai Lama's Buddhist training has Influenced his political-historical view."

"A thoughtful dialogue . . . about Tibet's past not simply as a sequence of events, but as seen through the perspectives of myth, spirituality, morality, human frailty, and fate . . . Will deepen general readers' knowledge of Tibet, its religion, and its engaging leader."

"A tenderly crafted study that is equal parts love letter, traditional history, and oral history . . . Throughout, Laird's colorful and lively writing brings to life thousands of years of Tibetan history, inviting the reader on his journey to a strange and wonderful land."

"This book presents a much wider range of material than we are accustomed to hearing discussed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Journalist Thomas Laird Includes valuable background information throughout, lending valuable support to their conversations; but it is the Dalai Lama's mastery of a wealth of historical information that makes this captivating reading."

"The Fourteenth Dalai Lama's fresh account of Tibetan myth and history, as shared at Dharamsala over a three-year period with Thomas Laird, is wonderful instruction and a great true pleasure, not less to because of the small informal moments that clarify these encounters with that delightful Buddha being who manifests in the beleaguered public figure of His Holiness."

"Thomas Laird's lively conversations with His Holiness the Dalal Lama and the history and mythology of Tibet couldn't come at a better moment, as China stubbornly persists in negating the distinctive Tibetan identity. The honesty, subtlety, and complexlty of His Holiness's thoughts of these crucial matters comes through in these fascinating dialogues. Everyone who cares about Tibet, or about a stable peace in Asia, should read this amazing account."

In a tenderly crafted study that is equal parts love letter, traditional history and oral history, Laird chronicles the development of Tibet from its mythic origins to its takeover by Communist China in 1950. Weaving historical research with interviews with the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled leader, veteran journalist Laird (Into Tibet: The CIA's First Atomic Spy and His Secret Expedition to Lhasa) offers insight into the triumphs and failures of the country. In one particularly fascinating section, the Dalai Lama expresses reservations about the truth of the Tibetan creation myths involving a demon and a monkey and accepts Darwin's theory of evolution as the most logical explanation of the origins of humankind. Laird traces Tibet's sometimes tortured relationships with China and India, recounting the country's conflicts with the Mongols and the Manchu Empire, as well as its struggles for independence in the face of Chinese occupation. The Dalai Lama also recounts his early life; vividly recalls his first meeting, at age 19, with Mao Zedong; and reflects on his years in exile and his hopes for Tibet to be freed from occupation. Throughout, Laird's colorful and lively writing brings to life thousands of years of Tibetan history, inviting the reader on his journey to a strange and wonderful land. 16 pages of color photos. (Nov.)
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