DOC Tibet by Colin Turnbull; Thubten Jigme Norbu in History

Review

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Essential for anyone wanting to understand about life in TibetBy whymeWonderful insights into Tibet; both spiritually and anthropologically. Norbu was a professor at Indiana U. and elder brother of the Dalai Lama. He was also a friend to Heinrich Harrer and Head abbott of a major monastery. With a leading anthropologist this book is essential for anyone wanting to understand about life in Tibet. I will always remember his gentle and kind manner. Read about him at Wikipedia and http://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/sep/08/tibet0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Great book if your interested in an inside view of ...By A. StoverGreat book if your interested in an inside view of Tibet and the church under the Dali Llama during the time when china over ran and drove out the Tibetan monks.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Decent; if baised overview of Tibetan HistoryBy Man"Tibet" gives a brief overview of the culture and history of Tibet. Thubten Jigme Norbu (d. 2008) was the brother of the 14th Dalai Lama; and was himself a high official in the Tibetan Buddhist order. Because of his background; Norbu focuses a lot of attention on the different Buddhist sects in Tibet and their historical founding and differences. He also gives a brief overview of peasant life; specifically how nomadic herders live; since he himself was born in a herding family; and I presume when this book was written that most Tibetans were still herders.My main complaint about this book is that it focuses too much on the religious history of Tibet; and not enough on the day to day life of the people; the economic history of the country; etc. It also paints an overly rosy picture of the interaction between peasants and the Buddhist church- giving the reader the impression that the two are in perfect harmony and without conflict. Peasants however probably view things differently- which is why the author briefly mentions the need for political reform; but does not go into depth about.