cover image Tibetan Prayer Flags: Send Your Blessings on the Breeze [With Prayer Flags]

Tibetan Prayer Flags: Send Your Blessings on the Breeze [With Prayer Flags]

Diane Barker. Connections Book Publishing, $24.95 (64pp) ISBN 978-1-85906-106-0

This attractive package consists of an illustrated hardcover and a long, colorful Tibetan prayer flag, packaged together in a lovely gift box. While the concept of this gift combination is similar to Tad Wise's""Blessings on the Wind,"" this set offers a superior book as part of the package. In it, Barker presents an accessible history of the role of prayer flags, explaining the symbolism of the five colors and the customary invocations that accompany the flags. Barker's approach is practical, advising readers about the most auspicious places and times to hang their flags, and helping them to understand the symbolism of the most popular designs. The book's best attribute is its beautiful full-color photography, showing images of the flags' use in the lives of ordinary Tibetans, as well as famous lamas.