Seven Years in Tibet by Heinrich Harrer. 

3/5 rating. 

Book #27 of 2020. Read May 4, 2020.

This book tells Heinrich’s journey from a WWII POW to his escape and his 7 years of traveling and living in Tibet.

The first half of this book is pretty boring as it is more or less the journal of his fleeing into Tibet and travels throughout the country towards the forbidden interior, and capital, Lhasa.

Once he gets to Lhasa, Heinrich is surprised by the welcome he receives from the Tibetan people as they not only open their homes, but their hearts to him at his time of need. Where I really started enjoying the book is his personal relationship with the 14th Dalai Lama, as Heinrich becomes his personal tutor. The descriptions of their time together and His Holiness’s inquisitiveness, intelligence, and kindness really shine through.

Unfortunately, the Chinese takeover, occupation, and eventual genocide of not only the Tibetan culture, but 1.2 million Tibetans, led both Heinrich, and eventually the Dalai Lama himself, to leave Tibet and seek refuge elsewhere.

While I didn’t think that the whole book was that interesting, there were some pretty good parts (mostly about the last third). If you are looking to learn about Tibet and its people, this would probably be a good book to do that.

IG Link.