Ever since the first European travelers reached Tibet six centuries ago; Westerners have been fascinated and tantalized by tales of that legendary; remote mountain civilization. Today; Tibet's peaceful; integrated way of life; deeply felt Buddhist tradition; and its culture rich in art; architecture; dance and music have all but disappeared; gradually replaced by the trappings of life introduced since the Chinese take-over of the 1950's. Most of the 3;000 monasteries and temples that once dotted the Tibetan countryside have been destroyed or converted into museums. Only in a few scattered émigré communities; in the treasures hastily smuggled out by 100;000 refugees who fled Tibet in 1959; and in a handful of photographs; is the old Tibet remembered and preserved.Tibet: The Sacred Realm brings together for the first time a selection of more than 140 of these rare photographs; taken from 1880 to 1950 by more than twenty intrepid adventurers; naturalists; explorers; scientists; and missionaries; who were among the very few in the West to travel in Tibet. In this valuable visual record the forward-looking thirteenth Dalai Lama sits in exile in India surrounded by his high officials; one of Tibet's wealthiest families poses in their Western-style dining room; the artificial lake of Lhasa reflects the imposing gilded roofs of the Potala Palace; Buddhist monks perform sacred dances in ornate animal masks; pilgrims circumambulate the holy city; and monks and sheepskin-bundled nomads gather on the vast northern plains to listen for the first time to a visitor's gramaphone.Selected from the collections of twenty-three institutions' archives and private source in Europe and the United States; the photographs represent the finest work of the explorer-photographers Alexandra David-Néel; Brooke Dolan; George Taylor; Ilya Tolstoy; and Claude White; among others; including the Tibetan photographer Sonam Wangfel Laden-La. Facing inclement weather; the threats of bandits; the objections of the lamas; and countless other hardships; these photographers still managed to distill the essence of Tibet's mystery and fascination.Recalling his early years in Tibet; Buddhist scholar; translator; and son of the former chief state oracle of Tibet; Lobsang P. Lhalungpa adds another dimension to the story revealed in the photographs. He shares his recollections of a boyhood in Lhasa; his training under the most revered Tibetan lamas; his life as a monk official in the Dalai Lama's government; and his sorrowful departure from his native land: "I mounted my favorite gelding; which had been saddled with its finest saddle cover. As I bent down to tuck the folds of my clothes under one leg; my round; fur-and-brocade-trimmed hat slipped off my head and fell to the ground. I remember feeling instant apprehension. Was this a sign that I would never see Lhas again?"As the technological age threatens to swallow; one by one; the unique civilizations of the world; the lessons to be learned from the age-old traditions of Tibet become all the more valuable. Tibet's past; illuminated here by glimpses of special vision; offers profound spiritual insight and a majestic feast for the eye.The photographs are introduced by a preface by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
#837530 in Books Presidio Press 1994-06-01 1994-06-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x .70 x 6.00l; 1.10 #File Name: 0891415327330 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Important to anyone interested in real world military strategy.By SylvestorReveals some of deep problems with our military; showing how social conventions and ego have more impact on professional military organizations than anything else. And although Leonhard doesn't say so directly he implies through his own experiences that these problem continue because most military practitioners cannot imagine anything other way of operating.I am at the moment a private in the Army; and if I could I would build on what Leonhard has to say. But for now I simply recommend this book.6 of 7 people found the following review helpful. Seriously flawed - probably not the best investment in timeBy Utah BlaineBefore I throw Col. Leonhard under the bus; I should make it clear that I've never served in the military in any capacity. It may well be that there is a great deal more to what Col. Leonhard writes that would be self-evident to a serving officer (in terms of background and world view) that I'm missing due to my lack of background. In my own discipline (physics); anyone can pick up a volume of the Landau and Lifschitz series and read through it; but I can guarantee that you aren't going to appreciate all the subtleties without dedicating a lifetime of study and experience to the field. I approached this book as an interested; reasonably well-read non-specialist who has read a great deal of Bill Lind's writings online; read about the Gulf War (e.g. Col. Summers account); the 2003 invasion of Iraq; etc. and I wanted to learn in detail what the experts view of maneuver war is and how it is different from the doctrine that Lind calls 2nd generation warfare.In short (and with the above caveats in mind); this work can only be characterized as a huge disappointment. There are; in my view; two fatal flaws in this work. First; at least half the text is taken up with Col. Leonhard's personal rantings about shortcomings in Army training; doctrine; AirLand battle; etc. In particular; he repeatedly rants about AirLand battle doctrine is flawed. By the 27th time he states this; I think the reader gets the picture. One of the other reviewers states that this book is a tough read; but contains a great deal of info. I agree with this assessment; but it is a tough read because it it poorly written. The prose could have been tightened up; and more than half the discussion in the book removed as irrelevant.Second; his conclusions often contradict his general thesis; or in several cases his conclusions really leave more questions than answers. He spends several hundred pages pointing out the flaws in the (then current - published in 1991) US Army Airland Battle; then as a case study talks about the invasion of Panama in 1989 and describes it as a great success for maneuver warfare. As an example of the latter phenomenon (answers versus questions); he goes to great length to explain the historical development of AirLand battle and how it was a response to the Soviet threat to Western Europe. He then rails about the flaws of the AirLand battle (and attrition warfare in general) and the superiorities of maneuver warfare; but then he never addresses the fundamental issue of how NATO should stop a Warsaw Pact invasion of Western Europe within the maneuver warfare paradigm. He never proposes an alternative to the AirLand battle; only criticizes it because it veers from the maneuver warfare paradigm. He vaguely alludes to some type of offensive; pre-emptive action; but I'm not sure how successful this would have been against the huge Warsaw Pact army. In the end; Leonhard left me with the impression that the AirLand battle paradigm was probably the right one and that his rantings about maneuver warfare are greatly overblown.The bottom line is that there is some good info in this book (hence the three stars); but it really isn't that well written or detailed in spite of some of the glowing reviews. I can't really recommend that anyone take the time to read it. Everything that I learned from this book can be discerned in about 10 minutes by reading the Wikipedia entry on maneuver warfare. I'm going to get Bill Lind's book and perhaps look around for some additional references to broaden my knowledge. This book is a real disappointment.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. very happy customerBy kris kritikalI had purchased this book about a year ago but was lost to me; I was a little devastated that I no longer had it in my collection; but now it sits proudly in my book case. Brilliant book; well written and easy to follow. Makes a compelling argument for the school of maneuver warfare theory. Plenty of history and philosophy too.Very happy with this purchase!
