Tibetan history

Favourite books on Tibet and Dharamshala

A huge number of books has been published on Tibet, ranging across travel memoir, history, biography, polemics and philosophy. Some, without doubt, are more readable than others. The following is very much a personal selection, favouring books that I have enjoyed because of their profundity, their clarity in telling a complex story, or the moving … Continue reading →

Photo exhibition: Glimpses of Tibet, 1914-2010

8-12 March: Photo exhibition Glimpses of Tibet, 1914-2010. Photographs by Dundul Namgyal Tsarong, Alexandra David-Neel, Lobsang Samten Taklha, and recent visitors to Tibet. The exhibition covers three periods: 1914-57, the delegation to Tibet in 1979 led by Lobsang Samten Taklha, the elder brother of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and Tibet from 2000 to 2010. … Continue reading →

Tibet: A History – Sam van Schaik

HISTORY DEMYSTIFIED The book starts with a dramatic moment. In the eighth century a brand new Tibetan empire burst out of the plateau, taking everyone by surprise when it captured the Chinese capital in 763. The Tibetans have never forgotten, and it’s unlikely the Chinese have either. The story of Tibet had actually begun a … Continue reading →

Moonpeak Magazine No. 3

Tragedy in Crimson – Tim Johnson

EARTH TREMORS AHEAD Pay no attention to the subtitle of this book, ‘How the Dalai Lama Conquered the World but Lost the Battle with China’. The author says relatively little about His Holiness, possibly because so much has already been written. As for losing the battle with China, if one thing emerges it is that … Continue reading →

Photo exhibition – McLeodganj in the 70s by Elliot Sperling

At the end of the hippy trail When Elliot Sperling first arrived in McLeodganj in 1971, he was finishing one of the epic journeys of the twentieth century – the overland trail from Europe to Asia. Travelling through Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan to India was a rite of passage for a generation, but one … Continue reading →