Rating: 
Summary: Well told
Review: This book is a history of the outsiders who have tried to gain entry to Tibet through the centuries. It begins with a brief description of Tibet, its geography and history, and why the political and religious leaders decided to forbid foreigners from visiting during the Middle Ages. The book then examines each of the major attempts by foreigners to enter the country and learn its secrets. The first descriptions are of Captain Thomas Montgomerie's spies, Indians who were trained in surveying and espionage skills and sent into Tibet under cover to map the country. The information these spies provided was essential for drawing the first accurate maps of Tibet. Hopkirk then describes the many subsequent attempts by Westerners to crash the gates and see Lhasa first hand. These Westerners included army officers from both the British and Russian armies, missionaries, and private citizens. All were turned back before they reached Lhasa until Francis Younghusband and the British army blasted their way through in 1903-1904. After Younghusband's opening of the country for the British, it became a little easier for foreigners to gain access to the country, at least for British government officials, that is. Hopkirk provides brief accounts of other subsequent adventurers and their expeditions to Lhasa, including Alexandra David-Neel, Heinrich Harrer, and Sven Hedin. He also describes the trips of the first explorers who attempted to climb Mt. Everest, especially Mallory. He closes the book with a description of the Communist Chinese invasion of Tibet as one final example of unwelcome trespassers. As I read this book, I was again struck by the contrast between how little average Tibetans had in the way of material goods or lifestyle, and how fiercely they struggled to keep it that way and keep foreign influences out. The descriptions of Lhasa at the turn of the century when Westerners first gained access to it make the place sound quite miserable- -open gutters, vermin, disease were everywhere. The monks and religious leaders possessed incredible power, and subjected people to hideous corporal punishments if they stepped out of line. When considering such circumstances, it's hard to believe that average Tibetans would really prefer to be left alone, to mire in their own dirt ruled by a strict theocracy. Nevertheless, these days the very word Tibet evokes images of the exiled Dalai Lama and his endless missions for peace. The idea that we have of Tibet today must somehow have been contained in the culture that the trespassers described in this book found and fought to destroy. The book is quite well written and engaging. Hopkirk does a masterful job at weaving together a coherent narrative thread from the various documents that describe the expeditions. His organization and selection provide clear insights into the topic and a balance that is hard to realize when reading the various firsthand accounts of these expeditions..
Rating:
Summary: Well told
Review: This book is a history of the outsiders who have tried to gain entry to Tibet through the centuries. It begins with a brief description of Tibet, its geography and history, and why the political and religious leaders decided to forbid foreigners from visiting during the Middle Ages. The book then examines each of the major attempts by foreigners to enter the country and learn its secrets. The first descriptions are of Captain Thomas Montgomerie's spies, Indians who were trained in surveying and espionage skills and sent into Tibet under cover to map the country. The information these spies provided was essential for drawing the first accurate maps of Tibet. Hopkirk then describes the many subsequent attempts by Westerners to crash the gates and see Lhasa first hand. These Westerners included army officers from both the British and Russian armies, missionaries, and private citizens. All were turned back before they reached Lhasa until Francis Younghusband and the British army blasted their way through in 1903-1904. After Younghusband's opening of the country for the British, it became a little easier for foreigners to gain access to the country, at least for British government officials, that is. Hopkirk provides brief accounts of other subsequent adventurers and their expeditions to Lhasa, including Alexandra David-Neel, Heinrich Harrer, and Sven Hedin. He also describes the trips of the first explorers who attempted to climb Mt. Everest, especially Mallory. He closes the book with a description of the Communist Chinese invasion of Tibet as one final example of unwelcome trespassers. As I read this book, I was again struck by the contrast between how little average Tibetans had in the way of material goods or lifestyle, and how fiercely they struggled to keep it that way and keep foreign influences out. The descriptions of Lhasa at the turn of the century when Westerners first gained access to it make the place sound quite miserable- -open gutters, vermin, disease were everywhere. The monks and religious leaders possessed incredible power, and subjected people to hideous corporal punishments if they stepped out of line. When considering such circumstances, it's hard to believe that average Tibetans would really prefer to be left alone, to mire in their own dirt ruled by a strict theocracy. Nevertheless, these days the very word Tibet evokes images of the exiled Dalai Lama and his endless missions for peace. The idea that we have of Tibet today must somehow have been contained in the culture that the trespassers described in this book found and fought to destroy. The book is quite well written and engaging. Hopkirk does a masterful job at weaving together a coherent narrative thread from the various documents that describe the expeditions. His organization and selection provide clear insights into the topic and a balance that is hard to realize when reading the various firsthand accounts of these expeditions..
Rating: 
Summary: enthralling
Review: This book presents vivid stsories that present the background to modern problems in Tibet -- I found it to be well-researched: by that I mean, the primary resources were listed so that I could easily identify the original documents if I wanted to read them. I knew almost nothing about why I should care about Tibet's problems -- I feel now that I have a good background and sense of the issues. The book captures your imagination, as well. It's a very good book for anyone interested in the background to this modern problem and for those who like to visit far away places without leaving their arm chairs. It is so well written you don't feel like you are reading a history lesson; it seems more like a mystery-romance-adventure book.
Rating:
Summary: I could not put this book down...
Review: This book was fantastic. I bought it in Kathmandu before heading up to Lhasa by bus. Hopkirks incredible, true stories gave my journey to Tibet (and my extended stay there) much more meaning and significance. But that isn't to say that you have to go to Tibet to appreciate this book - its engaging stories of Westerners desperately trying to get to the sacred and forbidden city of Lhasa in the 18th and early 20th centuries is both accessible and exciting. Even if you never go to Tibet, you'll be amazed by some of the stories in here. And if you do go, this book is an absolute must read simply for historical context. I found it fascinating.
Rating:
Summary: The Outside World Comes Crashing In
Review: This is a very entertaining little history book by the master expert on the obscure lands of Central Asia, Peter Hopkirk, who is also an excellent writer. The focus here is an esoteric bit of history which has probably not been covered elsewhere - the race by the outside world to get into mysterious Tibet, and especially its forbidden capital Lhasa. The Tibetans' almost pathological need to be left alone led them to repel anyone from outside shortly after such interlopers crossed the border. Add to that Tibet's inaccessibility, surrounded on three sides by the most impenetrable mountains on Earth, and on the fourth side by equally hostile deserts, all of which many people though the ages have died trying to traverse. Of course this all made outsiders, especially Westerners, yearn to "gatecrash" this forbidden land. Hopkirk tells the intriguing tales of the various adventurers, diplomats, and missionaries who made the earliest attempts to reach Lhasa, most of whom didn't make it. While mostly unsuccessful in reaching their ultimate goal, these hardy souls still had incredible stories to tell and contributed immensely to the sparse knowledge of Tibet's geography and culture. Included are some unexpected goodies like the story of the indestructible Pundits from India who literally counted the steps they took, plus the earliest deadly attempts to conquer Mt. Everest. The book ends rather depressingly with the story of China's brutal occupation in the 1950's, which ended Tibet's self-imposed isolation once and for all, after which the Chinese closed it off even more tightly because of political paranoia. Throughout the book, Hopkirk offers some key insights into ancient Tibetan culture and their homegrown brand of extreme Buddhism. As a result we find that Tibet was never the spiritual paradise of pure thought and devotion that modern celebrity Buddhists try to tell us it was, before the outside world screwed everything up (we see that not even the Dalai Lama makes that claim). You may be surprised by the fierce, if naïve, warlike tendencies of the Tibetans, even their monks. The only problem with this book is Hopkirk's tendency to hold back on many stories. He starts to describe some very interesting tales, like the harsh ordeal of the lone female missionary Susie Rijnhart or the mysterious Japanese spy Narita Yasuteru, only to abruptly claim that the conclusions are outside the scope of the book or more extensively described elsewhere. This is a rather frustrating tease from the author, especially since this book is not that long and there is surely room to spare. But that's the only misstep in this most enjoyable book. (Note: for the much larger story of this region, in which Tibet played a small historical part, see Hopkirk's later masterwork "The Great Game.")
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