Laird, Thomas: The Story of Tibet

Conversations with the Dalai Lama

'Deeply absorbing... Laird brilliantly weaves together the disparate strands of politics and religion. Much of the energy of the book derives from his quietly persistent questioning, not least on the magical aspects of Buddhism, which stretch his incredulity to breaking point but which produce a more vivid and revealing portrait of the Dalai Lama than any conventional biography... What emerges is a figure of extraordinary resilience, equanimity, and optimism... A valuable and fascinating addition to the canon.' Mick Brown, Daily Telegraph

Over the course of three years Thomas Laird had eighteen personal audiences with His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama of Tibet. These candid, one-to-one interviews covered His Holiness's beliefs on history, science, reincarnation and his lifelong study of Buddhism. Laird brings his meetings with the Dalai Lama to life in a rich, vibrant historical narrative that outlines the essence of thousands of years of civilization, myth and spirituality.

Laird and His Holiness explore Tibet's relations with the Mongols; the Golden Age under the Great Fifth Dalai Lama; Tibet's years under Manchu overlords; the four decades of modern independence in the first half of the twentieth century; and the Dalai Lama's personal meetings with Mao Tse-Tung. The Story of Tibet is the Dalai Lama's uniquely personal look at his country's past, and also a summation of a life's work as the spiritual and temporal leader of the Tibetan people.

'Remarkable... The Dalai Lama emerges from this book more fully and, if I may say, more as a human being than from most of the dozens of other books in which he appears.' Jonathan Mirsky, Literary Review