My Journey to Lhasa : The Classic Story of the Only Western Woman Who Succeeded in Entering the Forbidden City
Author(s): Alexandra David-Neel
“Involves us intensely in a world that no longer exists—that of free Tibet. . . . Fervent and admirably unsentimental . . . [David-Neel] had to exercise the utmost ingenuity to survive.”— New York Times Book Review
Originally published in 1927, My Journey to Lhasa is a powerful, entertaining record of danger and achievement that has become one of the most remarkable and inspirational of all travelers’ tales. Disguised as a beggar, Alexandra David-Neel tackled some of the roughest terrain and climate, suffered primitive travel conditions, frequent outbreaks of disease, the ever-present danger of border control, and the military to become the first woman to penetrate Tibet and reach Lhasa—and the first Western woman to have been received by any Dalai Lama.
Review(s):
“My Journey to Lhasa . . . involves us intensely in a world that no longer exists-that of free Tibet. . . . [David-Neel’s] descriptions of the landscape are fervent and her understanding of the Tibetans admirably unsentimental. Her Tibet is not at all the philosophers’ kingdom of Lost Horizon; it is a fierce . . . frequently dangerous place, where she had to exercise the utmost ingenuity to survive.”
“A scholar of Eastern religion and Tibetan language, David-Neel was indisputably a fearless traveler, a rogue’s rogue who, in 1923, disguised as an illiterate pilgrim, became the first Western woman to reach Tibet’s forbidden city. Her account has the power to awe even today.”
“The sort of thriller yarn that keeps you up all night and is too soon over.”
“As a traveler, she has performed a brilliant feat.”
“Fascinating…. A striking portrait of the Tibetan people and their culture, as seem by a most remarkable woman.”
“In 1923, at the age of fifty-five, the author disguised herself as a pilgrim and made her way to Tibet’s forbidden city of Lhasa. This is a lively account of her journey and a classic portrait of Tibet, its region, and its people.”
“David-Neel was indisputably a fearless traveler, a rogue’s rogue. Her account has the power to awe even today.”
“My Journey to Lhasa . . . involves us intensely. . . . [David-Neel’s] descriptions of the landscape are fervent and her understanding of the Tibetans admirably unsentimental. Her Tibet is not at all the philosophers’ kingdom of Lost Horizon; it is a fierce, filthy, frequently dangerous place, where she had to exercise the utmost ingenuity to survive.”
ISBN: 9780060596552