- Paperback: 320 pages
- Publisher: Flamingo; Film tie-in edition (Reissue) edition (1 Dec 1997)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0006550924
- ISBN-13: 978-0006550921
- Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.2 x 2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 385,302 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Seven Years in Tibet (Paladin Books)
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Product Description
Review
‘Like the voyage of the Kon-Tiki, it deserves to take its place among the few great travel stories of our own times’
The Times
‘Few adventureres in this century have had the combined luck and hardihood to return with such news as this. Fewer still have rendered it so powerfully unadorned.’
Times Literary Supplement
Review
'It deserves its place among the few great travel stories of our times.' The Times 'This is an absorbing and remarkable travel tale that also gives unparalleled accounts of the life and customs of an inaccessible region.' Sunday Times 'Few adventurers in this century have had the combined luck and hardihood to return with such news as this. Fewer still have rendered it so powerfully unadorned.' Times Literary Supplement 'Some books, like some mountains, are lonely and unrivalled peaks. This is one of them.' Economist
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I enjoyed the film and because of this wanted to read Harrer's own account, and wasn't disappointed. Harrer's escapes from British detention, and the hardships of his journey towards Lhasa, constitute a great adventure story and a window into an unknown world. His time in Lhasa, and especially his contact with the young Dalai Lama, is well told - we see a backward feudalism which to us is not attractive, but also a happy people with great reverence for their religion and traditions, and a young ruler with an insatiable curiosity about the outside world. This insight into the early years of the present Dalai Lama is one of the most interesting aspects of the book. Harrer left when the Chinese invaded in 1950, but knew enough to see that this was going to be a disaster for Tibet and its people, as has been subsequently documented in many books and reports. A superb adventure and a personal account of a vanishing culture. Read it !
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Picked up this book second hand as something a little bit different and to tell the truth I did not have high hopes. However, found it almost impossible to put down, now I want to visit Tibet myself! Unlike the film which disappointed me immensely, I feel that Harrer's naration was excellent and his views on the Tibet-China conflict were well-balanced. Whilst he undoubtedly did not favour the Chinese invasion, he does not pretend that all was perfect under the Dalai Lama also. A classic in travel-writing!
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I read the book well before production of the film was even announced. I found the book to be well written in describing the author's journey, right from his internment on attempting to climb Nanga Parbat (Unsere Berg to the German / Austrain team attempting to climb it) and his escape and travel into Tibet. He goes on to describe Tibet prior to the Chinese arrival, a world in which World War II seems to have no relevance. The menace of the Chinese becomes apparent increasingly so later in the book when it is clear so-called 'liberation' is inevitable.
If you've seen the film, the book especially later on is a different story. Firstly, the film only touches upon Harrer's and Aufschnaiter's journey to reach Lhasa and on their encounter with the Khampa bandits who try to separate them and rob them (irony that later the Khampas were those that put up the longest fight against the Chinese - all the way up to 1974).
The film also places the Chinese People's Liberation Army in Lhasa at the same time as Harrer - this certainly did not happen. When Harrer left Lhasa, the Chinese had only advanced so far into Tibet and halted to force the 17 point agreement on the Tibetans and were still a significant distance away.
I respect 'patriciamcleary's comment that she enjoyed the film more than the book. I'm afraid I'm of the oppostie view basically because of the inaccuracies and omissions from the film. However, I can appreciate that for some, the film might be an easier going way of appreciating the situation in the run up to the Chinese invasion (although heavily changed to the book).
To sum up, an easy to follow book that gave me a picture of Tibet different to that which I saw when I travelled to Tibet in the summer of 1998 (admittedly I went there as a tourist). The Chinese have taken away much of what made this admittedly far from perfect former Shangri La special.
Ian (alias Beefy_SAFC)
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
7 Years in Tibet
Read this book 12 years ago but enjoyed it so much I thought it worth a second read so introduced it to my book club. Read more
Published 26 days ago by C. Stanton
Keep and re-read.
I read this book years ago (18 plus) and way before the film was even a twinkle. I have recently re-read it and actually enjoyed it more now than . Read more
Published 1 month ago by K. B. Jackson
Fascinating Tibet
Tibet is frequently in the news, It is the source of many major rivers including the Yangtze - on whose banks live 20% of the worlds population - the religious culture is extreme -... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Neil
Seven Years in Tibet
This is a wonderful little book. Heinrich Harrer's exploits read at times like a Boy's Own adventure story, full of bravery, daring and at times, bare-faced cheek. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Eleanor McLees
When Tibet was Free!
Great story, good historical perspective, depicts tibetan ways of life BEFORE CHINA WIPED THEM ALL OUT!!
FREE TIBET!!
FREE TIBET!!
FREE TIBET!! Read more
FREE TIBET!!
FREE TIBET!!
FREE TIBET!! Read more
Published 22 months ago by Joćo Varandas
Harrer's great account
Since the Chinese Occupation, we are concerned that the original Tibetan culture and its language has been disappearing. Read more
Published 23 months ago by superblues
Not read it, but heard it's a classic....
I bought this as a gift for a friend. She told me it was one book she was dying to read, and I don't take just anybody's critique lightly. Read more
Published on 13 Dec 2009 by S. Connell
classic
This is a classic tale of adventure and enlightnment in a time before the modern world destroyed an ancient culture. Read more
Published on 17 Nov 2009 by Gordon Mc Leish
Fascinating true adventure story with vivid descriptions of Tibetan...
Harrer recounts the story of his escape with Peter Aufschnaiter from a British internment camp in India in 1944, their daring trek across the Tibet, and their happy stay in Tibet. Read more
Published on 1 Oct 2009 by Jerome Ryan
Tibet
It's a wonderful story about a man that just wanted to be free and basically doing something, not sitting around in a prison, so he escaped to Tibet and developed a great love for... Read more
Published on 16 Sep 2008 by OK
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