cover image His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama: An Illustrated Biography

His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama: An Illustrated Biography

Tenzin Geyche Tethong. Interlink, $35 (352p) ISBN 978-1-62371-877-0

Tethong, a long-serving aide to the Dalai Lama, offers a vivid insider’s look at the life of one of the most revered spiritual figures in the world. The Dalai Lama who emerges here is a humble man who loves his Lhasa Apso dogs, tinkering with watches, watching movies, and keeping up conversations with the world’s top scientists. Through a gripping narrative and never-before-seen photos of the Dalai Lama and his family, Tethong tells the story of Tibet and its sometimes violent struggle for autonomy from China. This larger story is intimately intertwined with the Dalai Lama’s life, which took him from a farming and horse trading family in a small Tibetan village to the temple-palace complexes of Lhasa, to exile in India after Chinese occupation of his country in 1959. Tethong also covers the Dalai Lama’s relationships with prominent figures including former Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and how they have broadened his outlook beyond Tibet. Notably, the Dalai Lama’s trips with Desmond Tutu to Israel, in Tethong’s estimation, reinforced his message of “continued advocacy for universal values of peace and brotherhood.” This remarkably candid and intimate account sheds new light on the life of the world leader. (Dec.)