An Adventure Classic

Heinrich Harrer was an Austrian mountain climber. In 1939 he is in India when World War II breaks out. He is taken to a detention camp in Bombay. He escapes and heads toward Tibet. At that time Tibet did not allow outsiders into their country. He walks, hides and runs until he crosses the Tibet boarder. Then he has to use all his skills to trick and deceive his way past daunting Tibetan officials. He walks seventy days over rugged mountainous terrain before he reaches Lhasa, the capital of Tibet.

He makes friends and lives with a family; he becomes fluent in Tibetan. He comes to the attention of the government who consults him on various matters where he contributes tremendously, because of his western school training. He becomes a tutor to the Dalai Lama.

I enjoyed his marvelous descriptions of his first sights of Tibet. He describes Tibetan life including their colorful ceremonies. Toward the end he also tells of the 1950 military takeover of Tibet by China and the Dali Lama and his government fleeing to India. In the afterword, the author tells of the Dalai Lama coming to his 90th birthday party in Germany. I enjoyed the afterword as it brought events up to the current date. I had no idea how badly Tibet has suffered under Chinese rule.

This book was first published in 1952 and apparently has sold millions worldwide. I seem to be late on the scene having just discovered this interesting book. Mark Meadows does a good job narrating the book. I highly recommend this book, it is a fascinating read.

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56 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Excellent

Where does Seven Years in Tibet rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It is in my top ten of true stories.

Any additional comments?

This is better than the movie counterpart. It really goes deeper, and the story is one that leaves you feeling. There is adventure, human development, cultural understanding, and beauty in this story.

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47 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

"Free Tibet!" is No Joke -- Most Excellent Read!

This is not Great Literature; it gets all the stars because it is one man's unique story of what happened when he was away from his native Austria climbing mountains in the Himalayas when World War II broke out. As a young man, in great physical condition, educated and quick-thinking, he took charge of circumstances, broke out of POW camp and got himself to Lhasa, Tibet. The story is well told and beautifully narrated. Mark Meadows sounds like a handsome Brit wearing a tuxedo. As Harrer's English would have been similarly accented, this makes perfect sense. The story has an old-timey feel to it. In fact, as it is a translation from German, I noticed some archaic usages which only remind the listener that this whole story is wonderful history. Apparently, Harrer presented himself extremely well. He also applied his wits and strength to the task at hand. He and his friend arrived in Lhasa ragged, dirty and barefoot with bleeding, blistered and frost-bitten feet after enduring great hardship on extremely high altitude mountain passes. They managed to get help and get work, and Harrer became tutor to the teen-aged Dalai Lama! Yes, the same delightful holy man still active in the world today. At fourteen, he was almost a prisoner in his own kingdom, a keen mind curious about the world, science, the future, and held back by ancient tradition, extremely conservative religious beliefs. Harrer brought order to the young man's studies and did his best to explain. When the Dalai Lama asked for what we would call a media room, Harrer constructed a fine little theater. The two men remained lifelong friends.

Many years ago I had read all the books by an author called Tuesday Lobsang Rampa, describing monastic life in Lhasa. Later, I was told that he was a phoney, a Brit who "did his homework." I felt rather cheated and wondered how much of all that had been true. It had been my only introduction to Tibet. On second investigation, I think this author may have been a "walk-in." And now I have moved home from sea level to 3,500 feet and then to over 6,000 feet. Harrer mentions elevation quite often in his book, the thin air, physical adaptation. Visitors to high-altitude locations like South Lake Tahoe will notice they have to rest more often than they planned. Indeed, when you move here, it's like running in sand for a good six months until you adapt. At any rate, the Lobsang-Rampa lore and not-so-high-altitude experience all comes together in Heinrich Harrer's story, describing the pageantry, the humor, love of color, gorgeous clear air. If he sometimes seems to be bragging, well, it really happened and it had to be told! I deplore the Chinese takeover and trashing of Tibet. This is an entertaining and most worthwhile book!

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32 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Great book

Loved the narrator, I had never seen the movie so now am anxious to see it. Such an incredible experience to go through and it gives you an appreciation for the Tibetan people.

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32 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

What a story!

This book had a really good narrator and kept your attention all the way through definitely recommend. A really good read.

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29 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Very significant to history

Great book, worth the read. It can be a bit tedious at times, but you won't regret keeping on it. A rare peek into a lost civilization and culture.

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24 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Fascinating!

I have actually read this book in hard copy a few times but loved this audible version of the book. This true historical account is all the more interesting because of the fact that Tibet was a closed country and in fact, is still somewhat difficult for the casual tourist to visit. There is nothing else that I'm aware of from this particular era that goes into such wonderful detail about the customs and everyday life of the Tibetans. I especially loved his relationship with his Holiness the Dalai Lama when he was a child. History has never been so entertaining.

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13 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Great

It's a great book, just I didn't really like that voice too much:) would prefer softer one:) maybe a woman's voice?

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12 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

The movie did not do justice to this story

Sure I like the movie but this listen was more complex and involved and genuine than what they could do on film. I understand the mountaineering descriptions and hardships they had to endure to get to Lhasa. Their pluck in the face of rejection and luck pulled them through. I also found that Harrer is a much more compassionate character than I had previously known. Take your time. You'll enjoy this.... OK one flaw... I wanted a map upon which to follow the journey. My atlas does not list Tibet as a country.... Sadly it's tossed in as part of China...

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6 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

German WWII POW Escapes from British into Tibet

Extremely interesting account of mountaineer, Heinrich Harrer's capture by the British military at the outbreak of WWII, while hiking in the Himalayas . . . already a soldier in the German army, he and his friends were captured and imprisoned, where they several times escaped, only to be caught . . . eventually succeeding . . . Harrer's relationship with the young Dalai Lama is astonishing, and makes one wonder at how it changed the trajectory of Heinrich's life . . . a man who clearly sided with Hitler in the most horrendous war of all time . . . great listen . . .

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5 personnes ont trouvé cela utile