Seven Years in Tibet by Heinrich Harrer Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Seven Years in Tibet
Book Review: the biggest idiot
Summary: 5 Stars
The author of this bookis the biggest idiot in the world. He did not understand the chinese history. Tibet has been one part of the China.Dalai Lama is not only a Tibet man,but also a chinese. The aothor would go to China again. He will find how many excellent,beautiful changes in Tibet. Tibet is more lovely than ever.Book Review: trudging through Tibet
Summary: 3 Stars
After reading all the glowing customers' reviews, I am embarrassed yet compelled to say that I didn't think the book was all that great. Okay, let me qualify that: for general information on Tibetan life during this period, I give it four stars. There are lots of tidbits on diet, dress and customs.As a true adventure, however, it gets two stars. I admire Harrer for the strength of body and will that it took to trek across Tibet. Unfortunately, his telling of this great undertaking--slogging through ice and snow, fording freezing rivers, yaks and humans on the verge of starvation and collapse,brushes with thieves and murderers--surprisingly lacks suspense and excitement. There is plenty of vague description but little dramatic interaction and no conversation. Harrer wasn't alone on his adventure; he was with another escaped prisoner named Aufshnaiter. I never really got a sense of this other guy, though, because Harrer doesn't give him a voice. He's sort of this vague Teller to Harrer's Penn. The reader does learn that Aufshnaiter gets a job in Lhasa and then moves out and gets his own place. I wish he had written a book so we could get his story.
One more thing: His Holiness the Dalai Lama may have written the forward and a letter of endorsement at the end, and his picture may be on the back cover but inside the book, he is barely present at all. Don't let Harrer's occassional comments like, "Later, when I frequently played canasta with the Dalai Lama..." fool you: He doesn't meet HH until 3/4 through the book.