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Tibet   |   READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE

Here's a page from Longitude, the specialty bookseller for travelers. To order online, and to see the latest, most comprehensive selection of books and maps, go to http://reading.longitudebooks.com/LN86. You may also call 800-342-2164 to order or request a catalog.

Essential Books These 5 items are available for $75, including
U.S. shipping, a 15% discount (Item no. EXTBT27)
 
Bradt Guide Tibet  •  Michael Buckley
GUIDEBOOK •  2006 •  PAPER  • 304 PAGES
A practical, detailed overview of Tibetan history, culture, attractions and natural life. Includes color photographs, local maps and excellent travel information. (TBT74, $22.95)
  Bradt Guide Tibet
My Journey to Lhasa  •  Alexandra David-Neel
TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2005 •  PAPER  • 317 PAGES
A reprint of the 1927 classic by the indomitable Buddhist scholar Alexandra David-Neel, with a new preface by the Dalai Lama. Tibet was still closed to the West in 1923, the year that David-Neel and her adopted Tibetan son set out on their wintry trek to Lhasa. Dressed as humble pilgrims and traveling under cover of night, the duo climbed mountains, fooled soldiers and ultimately reached the capital, where they joined the pilgrim throng. David-Neel was not altogether without the prejudices of her European contemporaries, but she was markedly better-educated; and as a result her travelogue is an informed, informative portrait of early twentieth-century Tibet. (TBT26, $14.99)
  My Journey to Lhasa
In Exile from the Land of Snows, The Dalai Lama and Tibet Since the Chinese Occupation  •  John Avedon
CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1994 •  PAPER  • 391 PAGES
The lives of the Tibetan people at home and in exile since the Chinese takeover in 1950. Avedon (who accompanied the Dalai Lama on his first American tour) interviewed over 100 people in Dharamsala and Tibet for this new classic. After introductory sections on ancient Tibet and the Chinese occupation, Avedon tackles how the nation was thrust into the 20th century by the loss of its sovereignty. It's a masterful, passionate tribute to the people and culture of Tibet. It's also useful in understanding Nepal today. (TBT04, $16.95)
  In Exile from the Land of Snows, The Dalai Lama and Tibet Since the Chinese Occupation
Essential Tibetan Buddhism  •  Robert Thurman
RELIGION •  1996 •  PAPER  • 317 PAGES
A collection of recently translated texts by the foremost Western scholar of Tibetan Buddhism. Thurman has chosen well from the vibrant sacred literature of Tibet, and helpfully includes suggested further reading, explanatory notes and a directory of sacred sites. (TBT15, $14.99)
  Essential Tibetan Buddhism
Tibet Map  •  MapLink
2003 •  MAP
A detailed traveler's map of Tibet and surrounding regions at a scale of 1:2,000,000, including Kashgar, Delhi, Katmandu, Thimphu and portions of the Xinjiang. With an index on the reverse. Two Sides. 33x49 inches. (TBT17, $9.95)
  Tibet Map



Also Recommended
The Lhasa Map  •  Gecko Maps    •  This fantastically detailed walking map (1:4,000) includes architecture and points of interest. (TBT126, $28.95)
 
 
Footprint Tibet Handbook  •  Gyurme Dorje   • GUIDEBOOK  •  An outstanding guide by a leading Buddhist scholar, including the central plateau, eastern provinces of Kham and Amdo, as well as Bhutan and the Kathmandu Valley. (TBT37, $29.95)
 
 
Learning Practical Tibetan  •  Andrew Bloomfield  •  Yanki Tshering   • LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS  •  A guide to learning useful Tibetan phrases, designed with the traveler in mind. (TBT38, $19.95)
 
 
Lonely Planet Tibet  •  Bradley Mayhew  •  John Vincent Bellezza  •  Tony Wheeler  •  Chris Taylor   • GUIDEBOOK  •  A practical guide to Tibet with maps, features on Tibetan and Mandarin language, notes on Buddhism, Tibetan culture and its rich history. (TBT50, $26.99)
 
 
Trekking in Tibet  •  Gary McCue  •  George Schaller   • GUIDEBOOK  •  An indispensable guide, featuring pre-trip planning, discussions of the most scenic routes and an overview of Tibetan culture and history. (TBT10, $18.95)
 
 
Buddha is as Buddha Does, The Ten Original Practices for Enlightened Living  •  Surya Das   • RELIGION  •  The respected Tibetan Buddhist teacher illuminates the virtuous life through the paramitas or teachings, traditional stories, historical and modern examples. (TBT114, $23.95)
 
 
China's Great Train, Beijing's Drive West and the Campaign to Remake Tibet  •  Abrahm Lustgarten   • HISTORY  •  Lustgarten's powerful account shows the construction, symbolism and impact of the rail connection from Beijing to Lhasa. (CHN560, $16.00)
 
 
Happiness, A Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skill  •  Matthieu Ricard   • RELIGION  •  The scientist-turned-monk's primer on Buddhism as a journey to fulfillment and transformation. (GEN381, $14.99)
 
 
Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism  •  John Powers   • RELIGION  •  A comprehensive study of the history and philosophy behind Tibetan Buddhism, suitable for the general reader. (TBT40, $22.95)
 
 
Kundun  •  Martin Scorcese   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT  •  Scorsese's tribute to Tibet and the resilience of its people. (TBT111, $9.99)
 
 
My Tibet  •  Galen Rowell   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT  •  Rowell captures the spirit and powerful allure of Tibet in these striking color photographs of the people and landscapes. (TBT58, $45.00)
 
 
The Dragon in the Land of Snows: A History of Modern Tibet Since 1947  •  Tsering Shakya   • HISTORY  •  A comprehensive account of the history and political development of Tibet since 1947, which includes eye-opening details of the American, British and Indian players involved in Tibet's struggle for sovereignty. (TBT32, $18.00)
 
 
The Open Road, The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama  •  Pico Iyer   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT  •  Pico Iyer, who has known the Dalai Lama since his days as a graduate student in Britain, draws on his long association with the man and his ideas for this remarkable portrait of the Tibetan people and the aspirations for their leader. He includes chapters on daily life in Dharamsala, travels with the Dalai Lama and incisive commentary on the history and future of Tibet. (TBT118, $14.95)
 
 
The Search for the Panchen Lama  •  Isabel Hilton   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT  •  A skillful and subtle story of the selection -- and kidnapping -- of the 11th incarnation of the Pachen Lama, revealing much of the current state of affairs between Tibet and China. (TBT43, $14.95)
 
 
The Tibetans  •  Matthew T. Kapstein   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT  •  Kapstein offers a clear, comprehensive overview of Tibetan history and culture from Prehistory to society, religion and today. (TBT127, $33.95)
 
 
Tibet, An Enduring Civilization  •  Francoise Pommaret   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT  •  This pocket-size encyclopedia, packed with hundreds of full-color illustrations and photos, highlights the culture and history of Tibet. Pommaret, who has written widely on the Himalayas, devotes a section to Tibet today, titled Invasion and Colonization. (TBT69, $12.95)
 
 
Trespassers on the Roof of the World  •  Peter Hopkirk   • HISTORY  •  Hopkirk's spellbinding history of Tibet from the 19th century to the present has as its centerpiece the 1949-1951 invasion by China. (TBT08, $15.00)
 
 
Visions of Tibet: Outer, Inner, Secret  •  Brian Kistler  •  Robert Thurman   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT  •  Kistler's photographs, taken over a 15-year period, celebrate Tibet, its monuments, people and places. (TBT95, $49.95)
 
 
A Shrine for Tibet, The Alice S. Kandell Collection  •  Robert Thurman  •  Marylin M. Rhie   • ART & ARCHITECTURE  •  Rhie and Thurman present Tibetan art in the context of a stunning Buddhist shrine room, focusing on Manchu and Mongolian masterpieces from the 15th-18th-centuries. (TBT133, $60.00)
 
 
Sacred Tibet  •  Philip Rawson   • ART & ARCHITECTURE  •  A concise, illustrated survey of Buddhist art in its religious, social and cultural context. (TBT18, $15.95)
 
 
A Journey in Ladakh  •  Andrew Harvey   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE  •  The vivid account of a 1981 journey by a young English poet in search of ancient Buddhist traditions in remote Ladakh. (HML15, $18.95)
 
 
Freedom in Exile, The Autobiography of the Dalai Lama  •  Dalai Lama   • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR  •  A vivid self-portrait, told with optimism, great determination, humor and insight. (TBT25, $15.99)
 
 
From Heaven Lake, Travels Through Sinkiang and Tibet  •  Vikram Seth   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE  •  An unconventional, award-winning travelogue of a 1981 trip to India from China via the Himalayas by the marvelous Indian novelist Vikram Seth. (HML19, $13.00)
 
 
Red Dust, A Path Through China  •  Ma Jian  •  Flora Drew   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE  •  An astounding memoir by an urban poet, painter and writer on the road to Tibet. A vagabond, rebel, and Buddhist, Jian abandons his Beijing life for a 3-year southwestern journey through Tibet, Burma and Guizhou Province. (CHN150, $16.00)
 
 
Seven Years in Tibet  •  Heinrich Harrer   • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR  •  First published in 1953, this is the riveting account of a young Austrian adventurer and mountaineer who became tutor to the Dalai Lama. (TBT02, $14.95)
 
 
The Autobiography of a Tibetan Monk  •  Palden Gyatso   • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR  •  Palden Gyatso writes with simple eloquence of the takeover of his country, destruction of monasteries and his own determination to hold onto his beliefs in a Chinese labor camp. (TBT94, $14.00)
 
 
The Hotel on the Roof of the World  •  Alec Le Sueur   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE  •  An entertaining memoir and account of life in Tibet by a man who worked at a hotel there for five years. It's an insightful look at contemporary politics, quirks and challenges. (TBT81, $17.95)
 
 
The Snow Leopard  •  Peter Matthiessen   • EXPLORATION • FAVORITE  •  The most perceptive, acutely observed and personal of all his books, Peter Matthiessen's vivid account of a five-week journey through Nepal with George Schaller combines their quest for the magnificent cat with a moving introduction to Buddhism and the people and culture of the Himalayas. (NPL03, $15.00)
 
 
The Way of the White Clouds  •  Lama Anagarika Govinda  •  Robert Thurman   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE  •  The 40th anniversary edition of the remarkable German-born monk and interpreter of Tibetan Buddhism's account of travels and discoveries in Tibet before the 1950 Chinese invasion. (TBT87, $19.95)
 
 
Travelers' Tales Tibet  •  James O'Reilly  •  Larry Habegger   • ANTHOLOGY  •  An engaging, insightful and entertaining selection of eyewitness reports. (TBT65, $18.95)
 
 
Prayer of the Dragon  •  Eliot Pattison   • MYSTERY  •  In this fifth superb political thriller set in modern Tibet, former Beijing inspector Shan comes the aid of a Navajo visitor at a remote monastery. (TBT121, $14.00)
 
 
Red Poppies  •  Alai  •  Howard Goldblatt  •  Sylvia Li-Chun Lin   • LITERATURE  •  This family saga unfolds in the 1930s among the warlords of eastern Tibet. (TBT61, $24.95)
 
 
Sky Burial, An Epic Love Story of Tibet  •  Xinran   • LITERATURE  •  Xinran turns the tale of a young Chinese woman's lifelong search for her husband in Tibet, based on an 1994 interview, into a powerful, gut-wrenching tale, evoking the customs, traditions and challenges of contemporary Tibet. (CHN282, $13.95)
 
 
Tales of Tibet: Sky Burials, Wind Horses and Prayer Wheels  •  Herbert J. Batt  •  Tsering Shakya   • LITERATURE  •  A collection of short fiction by contemporary Tibetan authors. The stories, many imbued with a Buddhist perspective, depict traditional ritual and rites. (TBT57, $33.95)
 
 

 
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