Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
Beautifully written book we should all read, 27 April 2001
By A Customer
The most difficult part of this review was the one-liner. How can I put into (simple) words the horrors that Tibet has been through, not in the last few years but over the last 50. If any book better illustrates the plight of a small nation against a despot like China more than this then I have not read it yet. It certainly puts into perspective the 'problems' that we may experience in our pampered lives.One question: Has the world forgotten Tibet and her invasion by China?
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
FREE TIBET NOW!, 22 Oct 2004
This book goes some way towards informing the western reader of the suffering that Tibet has suffered at the hands of the chinese, who have systematically dismantled Tibetan Buddhism and culture and massacred her people. As an aside, I find the West's reaction to Saddam Hussain's regime in Iraq and specifically his invasion of Kuwait (upon which Iraq had legitimate claim; a fact I never read in the Western press!) quite remarkable, in view of the fact that they stood by and watched whilst China raped Tibet, both literally and metaphorically. I suppose Tibet has no oil and China were a little too big to bully!The immensely rich Tibetan culture, as it existed fifty-five years ago is on the verge of extinction, but just like some rare bird can be saved by some direct action followed by many years of nurturing. Contact your government now and lobby them to take action against China's continuing illegal occupation of Tibet. With regard to our own Queen's recent refusal to meet the Dalai Lama; she should hang her head in shame! Protest when and wherever you can. In response to the Chinese reviewer, no I don't take your comments seriously. Maybe you think you speak the truth, but I'm afraid it's the truth of Chinese indoctrination and propaganda.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
An eye-opener that leads you to want to know more, 5 Sep 2006
This is the compelling story of the life of Palden Gyatso, of which over 30 years was spent in Chinese prisons. It is also the story of China's invasion, occupation, and transformation of Tibet, albeit mainly from behind bars.
It reminds me of Primo Levi's 'If This Is A Man', the account of his time in the Nazi concentration camps. Gyatso suffers because of his religious beliefs, as well as his refusal to 'reform' to communist ways.
What is most amazing is the apparent belief of the Chinese authorities that a culture could simply be 'educated' into a different way of living; that those who resisted could, by brute force, be persuaded to change their beliefs. But then, a similar process of 'education' is no doubt going on in the world now, as nations try to 'democratise' countries they occupy.
Unlike Primo Levi, however, Gyatso's book seems to be missing an element of self-reflection. In under 240 pages you get a strong sense of events and terrible cruelty, but only briefly does he mention that he too had to denounce his fellow prisoners. Nowhere does he address the problems of the feudal system that the Chinese so hated. I get the impression that in trying to make a case for a free Tibet, the story has been trimmed of some of the nuances that might have made it less a story, and more enlightening. Having said that, it certainly is an eye-opener, and inspires you to find out more about the recent histories of Tibet, China and Asia in general.
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