20th -21st Century Tibetan Autobiographies, etc.
This list was compiled to illustrate the richness of Tibetan autobiographical writing in Tibet. Over the years, students in Gray Tuttle’s “20th Century Tibetan History” course have read most of these works and provided an abstract and summary. If you find that there are auto-biographical works in English that have not been included here, please feel free to send an email to gwt2102@columbia.edu.
Lhamo, Rinchen. We Tibetans. New York: Potala Publications, 1985 [1st edition: 1926]. - Rinchen Lhamo. We Tibetans. New York: Potala Publications, 1985 [1st edition: 1926].
Sherap, Paul. A Tibetan on Tibet: Being the Travels and Observations of Mr. Paul Sherap (Dorje Zödba) of Tachienlu. London: T.F. Unwin [1926], reprint: Kathmandu: Ratna Pustak Bhandar, 1975. - Jack Wilson 11/2/09 Abstract: A Tibetan on Tibet collects the conversations of G.A. Combe with Paul Sherap. These conversations took place daily for one to two hours over a period of about 4 months. Sherap, after introducing himself and briefly telling the story of his life, spends the majority of these conversations describing the differing […]
MacDonald, David. Twenty Years in Tibet. Delhi: Cosmo, 1932, 1996. - Daven Farnham David Macdonald: Twenty Years in Tibet Abstract David Macdonald’s Twenty Years in Tibet chronicles his time in Tibet from the early 1900s until the late 1920s. As the British government’s Yatung Trade Agent, Macdonald had frequent interactions with the local people, being able to observe traditional Tibetan culture, religion, and lifestyles. This was […]
Gergan, Josef and Samuel Heinrich Ribbach. Drogpa Namgyal: ein Tibeterleben [Drogpa (Nomad) Namgyal: A Tibetan Life]. Munich: Planegg: O. W. Barth. 1940. - [Reprint: Culture and Society in Ladakh. New Delhi: Ess Ess Publications 1986]. (Note: Collaboration between a German Moravian missionary, and a Ladakhi convert to Christianity. This is a semi-autobiographical account of life, from birth to death, in Khalatse village on the Indus [Ladakh]. Obviously, this text is in German.) Write 4-5pp (1200-1500 words) book review […]
Lodö Gyatso, Jamyang (’Jam dbyangs blo gros rgya mtsho). Kun mkhyen ka: thog pa si tu chos kyi rgya mtsho’i rnam thar mdor bsdus ngo mtshar yongs ’dus ljon bzang (Magnificent Tree That Gathers All Marvels: A Brief Biography of the All-Knowing Katok Situ Chökyi Gyatso). Pelpung Woodblock Edition. Published by Gyakhar Gonpo Namgyal between 1925 and 1959. - Submitted by Sonam Tsering 113 folios. Also available as e-copy at tbrc.org. (Note: This text is in Tibetan) Abstract Lodö Gyatso’s biography is a disciple’s account of the life and deeds of his master Katok Situ Chökyi Gyatso (Kaḥ thog si tu Chos kyi rgya mtsho, 1880–1925) of Katok Thupten Tashi Chöling, a major Nyingma […]
The Dalai Lama. My Land and My People: The Original Autobiography of His Holiness the Dalai Lama of Tibet. New York: McGraw-Hill. 1997. [1962, 1977] - Ashby Hardesty 8 April 2007 A Review of My Land and My People Abstract: This paper reviews the Fourteenth Dalai Lama’s autobiography My Land and My People: The Original Autobiography of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. This autobiography was published in 1962 and details the Dalai Lama’s life up to that point. In it, he […]
Trungpa, Chogyamas told to Esme Cramer Roberts. Born in Tibet. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2000 [1966, 1968]. - Sara Canby 15 March 2007 A Review of Born in Tibet Abstract: Born in Tibet recounts the early life of the 11th Trungpa Tulku Chogyam Trunpa (Tibetan spelling: Chos kyi Rgya mtsho Drung pa) as well as the political situation in Tibet from 1939 to 1960. Directed toward a Western audience, Born in Tibet describes […]
Taring, Dolma. Daughter of Tibet: The Autobiography of Rinchen Dolma Taring. London: Wisdom Publications, 1970, 1986. - Lamaozhuoma Review of Rinchen Dolma Taring’s Daughter of Tibet The book, Daughter of Tibet, depicts the life history of the author, Rinchen Dolma Taring, spanning the period from the author’s birth in 1910 to the writing of this autobiography in 1969. The autobiography consists of two major parts—the author’s life in Tibet from her birth […]
Rinchen Dakpa (b. 1947) and B. A. Rooke. In Haste from Tibet. London: Hale, 1971. - Huasha Zhang Review of Rinchen Dakpa and B. A. Rooke: In Haste from Tibet Abstract Rinchen Dakpa was born in 1947 in a headman’s family in Bhakar, a small village near Lhasa. He escaped from Tibet to India in 1959 with his uncle, who was an ex-abbot in the Potala and then governor of Kongpo. […]
Tseten Dolkar & Windsor, John. Girl From Tibet. Chicago: Octavo, 1971. - Girl From Tibet By Tseten Dolkar as told by John Windsor Avery Park Abstract Girl from Tibet is an autobiography narrated by Tseten Dolkar and written by John Windsor. The autobiography is of Tseten’s life, narrated when she was still in her twenties. She was born in Lhasa right around the time Communist China colonized […]
Andrugtsang, Gompo Tashi. Four Rivers, Six Ranges: Reminiscences of the Resistance Movement in Tibet. Dharamsala: Information and Publicity Office of H.H. the Dalai Lama, 1973. - Travis Benjamin Thurber A Review of Four Rivers, Six Ranges Abstract: Andrugtsang Gompo Tashi (1905-1964), a Tibetan merchant born in Molha Khashar, a Lithang river valley village in Kham, became the leader of a resistance group known as Four Rivers, Six Ranges (Chushi Gangdrug) in 1958. For the next couple years, he and his band […]
Khetsun Sangpo Rinbochay. Autobiography of Khetsun Sangpo: Memoirs of a Nyingmapa Lama from the Yamdok Area of Tibet. Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 1973. - (actual text is only in Tibetan) Write 4-5pp (1200-1500 words) book review of the book you selected, and post it here using the format that is up there (CCNMTL staff can help with wiki postings if you have any trouble). Please start your paper with a one paragraph (150 word) abstract giving the following information: […]
Khyongla Rato (b. 1928). My Life and Lives: The Story of a Tibetan Incarnation. Rato Publications: 1977, 1996. - Erin Marino October 26, 2009 My Life and Lives: The Story of a Tibetan Incarnation Khyongla Rato (Edited and with a Foreword by Joseph Campbell) My Life and Lives is a personal account of the tenth incarnation of the Buddhist lama Khyongla. Norbu was born in 1923 to a devout Buddhist family in the tiny […]
Dhondub Choedon. Life in the Red Flag People’s Commune. Translated and Published by the Information Office of H.H. the Dalai Lama, Dharamsala, India: 1978. - Mark Clemente March 7, 2007 A Review of Life in the Red Flag People’s Commune By Dhondub Choedon Abstract: This book portrays the life and circumstances of a young Tibetan woman having to live under the Chinese Communist Party (1959-1965). It also expresses her societal classification of being a wulagpa, perhaps better referred to as […]
Nyag rong pa, Rab brtan rdo rje. Horseman in the Snow: The Story of Aten, an Old Khampa Warrior. Translated by Jamyang Norbu. Dharamsala: Information Office, Central Tibetan Secretariat, 1979. - Karlee Blank Abstract: Aten Doghya Tsang was born in 1915 in Nyarong, Eastern Tibet. As a typical Khampa warrior, he opposed the Chinese in their oppression of Tibet. However, unlike a typical Khampa warrior, he was a close confidante of the Communists and was provided a Chinese education. In 1960, following his flight from Kham […]
Gashi, Tsering Dorje. New Tibet: Memoirs of a Graduate of the Peking Institute of National Minorities. Dharamsala: Information Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, 1980. - Jennifer Yu March 19, 2007 A Review of New Tibet: Memoirs of a Graduate of the Peking Institute of National Minorities Abstract: When Chinese forces began to occupy Tibet during the mid-20th century, it became common for members of the Tibetan aristocracy to send their children to pursue their studies in China. Tsering Dorje Gashi […]
Lattimore, Owen and Fujiko Isono. The Diluv Khutagt: Memiors and Autobiography of a Mongol Buddhist Reincarnation in Religion and Revolution. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1982. - The Life and Times of the Fifth Diluv Khutagt Nathan Bates Abstract The Diluv Khutagt: Memoirs and Autobiography of a Mongol Buddhist Reincarnation in Religion and Revolution’s two parts are important records of the rapid political changes that took place within Mongolia and China from 1901 until 1949. However, unlike other political histories, the Diluv […]
Karma rang byung kun khyab phrin las, Khenpo Kalu. The Chariot for Traveling the Path to Freedom: The Life Story of Kalu Rinpoche. San Francisco: Kagyu Dharma, 1985. - Reviewed byYasuhiro Sasayama Abstract of the autobiography and its background Kalu Rinpoche (1905-1989) was one of the greatest Buddhist evangelists that modern Tibet has had. He contributed to Tibetan Buddhism as a leading lama of the Kagyu School until 1956 and help spread it in the West after 1971. His greatness as a teacher of […]
Tashi Khedrup, with Richardson, Hugh Edward, Skorupski, Tadeusz. Adventures of a Tibetan Fighting Monk. Bangkok: Tamarind Press 1986, Bangkok: Orchid Press, 2003. - Paul Ratchford March, 2007 A Review of Adventures of a Fighting Monk In Adventures of a Fighting Monk an autobiographical work compiled by Hugh Richardson we see the intriguing tale of Tashi Khedrup, otherwise known as Lhakpa. The time period covered is from 1937-1969. For the purposes of this report I will use the name […]
Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche. Blazing Splendor: The Memoirs of Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche. Kathmandu: Rangjung Yeshe, 1986, 2005. - Austin Barney A Review of Blazing Splendor Abstract: Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche (1920-1996) was an influential teacher of Tibetan Buddhism in the Nyingma and Kagyu Buddhist traditions. This book provides a rare and unprecedented view into the complex lives and relationships of some of Tibet’s greatest Buddhist teachers and practitioners in pre-communist Tibet. It also provides […]
Dawa Norbu. Red Star over Tibet. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers, 1987. - Julia Kirchner 03-05-07 A Review of Red Star over Tibet Red Star over Tibet is a personal account of a young Tibetan who lived in Tibet during the first nine years of the Chinese occupation. He attempts to describe the political realities before and after 1950 and evaluate the eventual political outcomes with respect to […]
Thubten Jigme Norbu. Tibet is My Country: Autobiography of Thubten Jigme Norbu, Brother of the Dalai Lama. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1987. - Review by Misha Kaufman November 2, 2009 Review of Tibet is My Country Abstract Tibet is My Country is a beautiful account of the life of Jigme Norbu, the eldest brother of the 14th Dalai Lama. His story begins with his birth at Tengtser in 1922 and ends with the exile of the 14th Dalai […]
Hortsang Jigme. Under the Blue Sky –An Invisible Small Corner of the World. Translated by Lobsang Dawa and Gussje de Schot, privately printed in typescript, 1989. (See same: 1998). - Under the Blue Sky – Book Review Author: Hortsang Jigme Reviewer: Xiaoxiao Sun This article is organized in three parts: the “abstract” has provided a brief introduction of Hortsang Jigme’s life under Chinese control before he escaped to India; the “review” has examined each chapter’s story-telling and made summary and comments accordingly; the “open question” […]
Yuthok, Dorje Yudon (b. 1912). House of the Turquoise Roof. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 1990. - Karman Lucero Book Review of House of the Turqoise Roof by Dorje Yudon Yuthok Abstract The autobiography of Dorje Yudon Yuthok takes place from her birth in 1912 through the mid 1980s. While in Tibet, the author spent most of her time living in Lhasa and a brief time in Treshong, as well as some […]
The Dalai Lama. Freedom in Exile: The Autobiography of the Dalai Lama. San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1991. - Ashby Hardesty 5 May 2007 A Review of Freedom in Exile: The Autobiography of the Dalai Lama Abstract: This paper reviews the Fourteenth Dalai Lama’s autobiography Freedom in Exile: The Autobiography of the Dalai Lama. This autobiography was published in 1991 and details the Dalai Lama’s life up to that point. In it, he recounts […]
Chagdud Tulku. Lord of the Dance: Autobiography of a Tibetan Lama. Junction City, CA: Padma Publishing, 1992. - Jenny Shen Abstract Lord of the Dance is an autobiographical account of renowned Tibetan Lama, Chagdud Tukku. Known for his compassion and knowledge, he was a great teacher, spiritual master, physician, and friend of many. However, rather than focusing on his achievements and influences as a lama, the autobiography chose to give an account of […]
Gyenten Namgyal, Namsa Chenmo. A Tailor’s Tale In Chöyang. Dharamsala: Department of Religion and Culture. No. 6. 1994. 28-63. - Write 4-5pp (1200-1500 words) book review of the book you selected, and post it here using the format that is up there (CCNMTL staff can help with wiki postings if you have any trouble). Please start your paper with a one paragraph (150 word) abstract giving the following information: who the books is about, the […]
Drolma, Dawa. Delog: Journey to Realms Beyond Death. Varanasi: Pilgrims Publishing, 2002 [1995]. - Elizabeth Reynolds Delog: Journey to Realms beyond Death Abstract Delog: Journey to Realms Beyond Death tells the story of a 16 year old delog, Dawa Drolma’s journey to various realms after death. Delog refers to a person who has died, visited the realms of heaven and hell, the bardo, and returns to tell the tale. Born […]
Pema, Jetsun. Tibet: My Story. Element Books, 1996. - Jack A. Waddell Abstract Tibet: My Story is the autobiography of Jetsun Pema (born July 7th, 1940), the sister of the 14th Dalai Lama and the President of the Tibetan Children’s Village (TCV). Written at the age of fifty-six years-old, Jetsun Pema uses her autobiography not only to recount her life from her birth in […]
Alak Tsayu Tenzin Palbar. The Tragedy of My Homeland. Dharamsala: manuscript, 1997. - Write 4-5pp (1200-1500 words) book review of the book you selected, and post it here using the format that is up there (CCNMTL staff can help with wiki postings if you have any trouble). Please start your paper with a one paragraph (150 word) abstract giving the following information: who the books is about, the […]
Dewatshang, Kunga Samten & Dorjee Wangdi Dewatshang. Flight at the Cuckoo’s Behest. New Delhi: Paljor Publication, 1997. - Karlee Blank Abstract: Kunga Samten Dewatshang, a trader born in Lithang in 1914, is perhaps the most influential layperson in Tibetan history hailing from Eastern Tibet. He relocated to Lhasa with his family immediately preceding the Communist victory in 1949. He was a vehement critic of the Communists, and a chief founder and leader of […]
Goldstein, M., Seibenschuh & Tashi Tsering. The Struggle for Modern Tibet. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe, 1997. - Also available in Chinese translation:Xizang shi wo jia: Zhaxi Ciren de zi zhuan 西藏是我家 : 扎西次仁的自傳. Narrated by Zhaxi Ciren; English by Meierwen Ge’ersitan, Weilianmu Sibenshichu; Translated by Yang Hejin. Carle Place, NY: Mingjing chubanshe, 2000. Later reprinted in a politically revised translation by China’s Tibetology Center in Beijing: Zhongguo Zangxue chubanshe, 2006. Xiaoxiao Huang […]
Radhu, Abdul Wahid. Islam in Tibet – Tibetan Caravans. Translated by Jane Casewit. ed. by Gray Henry. 1997, 59-311. - (Note: See also Islam in Tibet [videorecording : the ornaments of Lhasa. produced by Gray Henry, Louisville, Ky.: Fons Vitae, c1997. Ladakhi Muslim merchant). Translation of the French, first published twice in Paris by Fayard in 1981 and again in 1991 by Peuples du Monde. Entry by Elizabeth Reynolds, March 2014 Abstract: Abdul Wahid Radhu’s […]
Tapontsang, Adhe. Ama Adhe: The Voice that Remembers: The Heroic Story of a Woman’s Fight to Free Tibet. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1997. - Lamaozhuoma Ama Adhe: The Voice that Remembers is about Adhe’s life story. The book consisted of four major parts–Adhe’s childhood in Kham, conflicts between local Tibetans and the Chinese, twenty-seven years of imprisonment in Chinese labor camps and her new life in Nepal and India since 1987 to the 1990s when the book was written. […]
Tapontsang, Adhe. Ama Adhe: The Voice that Remembers: The Heroic Story of a Woman’s Fight to Free Tibet. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1997. - Ama Adhe: The Voice That Remembers The Heroic Story of a Woman’s Fight to Free Tibet by Adhe Tapontsang, as told to Joy Blakeslee Review by Erin Marino 8 December 2009 Adhe Tapontsang, A Living Piece of History Abstract: Ama Adhe is the captivating testimony of Adhe Tapontsang, a heroic Tibetan woman with a deep […]
Dagpo Rimpoché & Jean-Philippe Caudron. Le Lama venu du Tibet. Paris: Grasset, 1998. - Write 4-5pp (1200-1500 words) book review of the book you selected, and post it here using the format that is up there (CCNMTL staff can help with wiki postings if you have any trouble). Please start your paper with a one paragraph (150 word) abstract giving the following information: who the books is about, the […]
Lobsang Gyatso (Blo bzang rgya mtsho, Phu khang Dge bshes), with Sparham, Gareth. Memoirs of a Tibetan Lama. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications, 1998. - Drew Lebed Drew said, “This is one of the best books I have read in my entire life.” A Review of Memoirs of a Tibetan Lama Abstract: In Memoirs of a Tibetan Lama, we follow Lobsang Gyatso and his translator, Gareth Sparham, as they lead us through a life that will both fascinate and inform […]
Palden Gyatso and Tsering Shakya, The Autobiography of a Tibetan Monk. New York: Grove Press, 1998. - Xiaoxiao Huang Dec. 6th, 2009 Review of The Autobiography of A Tibetan Monk by Palden Gyatso Palden Gyatso was born in 1933 into a well-heeled peasant family in a village called Panam, some 125 miles west of Lhasa and 45 miles from Tibet’s second largest city, Shigatse. At the age of ten, he became a […]
Ricardus, Peter,ed. Tibetan Lives: Three Tibetan Autobiographies. London: Routledge/Curzon, 1998. - Monika Urbanowicz A Review of Tibetan Lives: Three Himalayan Autobiographies Abstract: In Tibetan Lives, Peter Richardus offers us edited versions of three life stories of Phuntshogs Lungrtogs, sKarma Sumdhon Paul, and Ts’an-chin Chen (two monks and a clerk) whose original composition was a direct product of a colonial knowledge-gathering practice current in India in the […]
Choedrak, Tenzin & Grasdorff, Gilles Van. The Rainbow Palace. London: Bantam Books, 2000. - A Review of The Rainbow Palace By Jia Zeng Abstract The Rainbow Palace is the autobiography of Tenzin Choedrak, who was a Tibetan Lhamenpa, i.e. the physician, of the 14th Dalai Lama. The story of Dr. Tenzin Choedrak covers 74 years from 1922 to 1996, during which he moved from his birthplace Niertchen in Shigatse to Lhasa, from […]
Ani Pachen & Adelaide Donnelley. Sorrow Mountain- The Journey of a Tibetan Warrior Nun. New York: Kodansha International, 2000. - Jenny Shen Fall 2009 Abstract Sorrow Mountain – The Journey of A Tibetan Warrior Nun is an autobiographical account of Ani Panchen, with Adelaide Donnelley as the co-author. The book opens with Ani Panchen anxiously waiting for the arrival of the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, India. Due to years of torture she experienced in China, […]
Geshe Rabten, Wallace, B. Alan. The Life of A Tibetan Monk. Le Mont-Pèlerin, Switzerland: Edition Rabten, 2000. - Daven Farnham Geshe Rabten: The Life of a Tibetan Monk Review: A Singular Focus Towards Academia Abstract Geshe Rabten’s account details the struggles and learning required for advancement within the monastic system. From the time he was a young boy, he was attracted to Buddhist theology. After entering Sera Monastery at a very young age, […]
Jing, Liming. Flying High Out of a Tibetan Valley. Victoria, BC: Trafford Publishing, 2000. - Abstract Flying High Out of a Tibetan Valley is the story of the life of Jing Liming, an ethnically Chinese intellectual who was born and raised in the Amdo region of Tibet. The story relates her struggles from her birth in 1955 through the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution, and her successive journey of […]
Tsering, Diki. Dalai Lama, My Son: A Mother’s Autobiography. New York: Viking, 2000. - Paul Ratchford May 01, 2007 A Review of Dalai Lama, My Son Dalai Lama, My Son is an autobiographical book compiled and written by the children and grandchildren of Diki Tsering (The mother of the Dalai Lama). It covers the time period from her birth in the Iron Ox year (1901) to her death in […]
Keutsang Trulku Jampel Yeshe, Memoirs of Keutsang Lama: Life in Tibet after the Chinese Liberation. Pema Thinley, translator (New Delhi: Paljor Publications, 2001). - Memories of Keutsang Lama (Life in Tibet After the Chinese ‘Liberation’) by Keutsang Trulku Jampel Yeshe, known as Keutsang Rinpoche Review by Yasuhiro Sasayama [Abstract of the Autobiography] Author: Keutsang Trulku Jampel Yeshe, Birth Name: Jampel Yeshe Choekyi Monlan. The author is the immediate reincarnation of Darhen Keutsang Yeshe Monlan Pel Sangpo (Keutsang Rinpoche) who […]
Losang Yonten. The Fire of Hell. With Veronique Renard. Pilgrims Publishers. New Delhi, India: 2001. - Write 4-5pp (1200-1500 words) book review of the book you selected, and post it here using the format that is up there (CCNMTL staff can help with wiki postings if you have any trouble). Please start your paper with a one paragraph (150 word) abstract giving the following information: who the books is about, the […]
Sakya, Jamyang (b. 1934). Princess in Land of Snows: The Life of Jamyang Sakya in Tibet. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2001. - Monika Urbanowicz A Review of Princess in the Land of Snows: the Life of Jamyang Sakya in Tibet Princess in the Land of Snows is a fascinating, autobiographical account of the life of Lady Jamyang of Tibet, who through her perseverance and determination is able to overcome great obstacles and to achieve cultural and religious […]
Taklha, Namgyal Lhamo. Born in Lhasa: The Autobiography of Namgyal Lhamo Taklha. Ithaca: Snow Lion, 2001. - Summary Tenzin Dudul Taklha Born In Lhasa is the autobiography of Namgyal Lhamo Taklha (rnam rgyal lha mo stag lha). Born in 1942, the author tells the story of her life through 2001. The book begins with the author recreating her life in Lhasa as the daughter of an aristocratic family before the Chinese occupation. […]
Bagdro. A Hell on Earth: A Brief Biography of a Tibetan Political Prisoner. Dharamsala: Ganden Monastery, 2002. - Mark Clemente April 28, 2007 A Review of A Hell on Earth By Ven. Bagdro from Ganden Monastery Abstract: This book portrays the experiences of a Tibetan monk who endured great pain for his political beliefs and desire for Tibetan independence. It is a book that shares the life experiences of Ven. Bagro and the […]
Siebenschuh, William R. & Tashi Tsering. The Struggle for Education in Modern Tibet: The Three Thousand Children of Tashi Tsering. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press, 2003 - Jennifer Yu April 30, 2007 A Review of The Struggle for Education in Modern Tibet Abstract: Tashi Tsering, a person of humble peasant origins, made remarkable advancements in his personal education. He studied abroad in India and the United States, before returning to Tibet in the hopes of improving the standard of living for his […]
Xing Suzhi. Xue yu qiu fa ji: Yi ge Han ren lama de kou shu shi. Beijing: Sanlian Shu dian, 2003. - (Note: the text is in Chinese.) Write 4-5pp (1200-1500 words) book review of the book you selected, and post it here using the format that is up there (CCNMTL staff can help with wiki postings if you have any trouble). Please start your paper with a one paragraph (150 word) abstract giving the following information: […]
Chope Paljor Tsering. The Nature of All Things: The Life Story of a Tibetan in Exile. South Melbourne, Victoria: Lothian Books, 2004. - Write 4-5pp (1200-1500 words) book review of the book you selected, and post it here using the format that is up there (CCNMTL staff can help with wiki postings if you have any trouble). Please start your paper with a one paragraph (150 word) abstract giving the following information: who the books is about, the […]
Kamal Tuladhar. Caravan to Lhasa: Newar Merchants of Kathmandu in Traditional Tibet. Kathmandu: Tuladhar Family, 2004. - Caravan to Lhasa: Its Review, Major Themes, and Abstract Sungoh Yoon Abstract In the travel account and story of the lives of his grandfather, father, and uncles, the author, Kamal Ratna Tuladhar, presented an elaborate and colorful description of the caravan trade and commerce centered on Kathmandu, Lhasa and Kolkata. Along with the life story […]
Jamyang Wangmo. The Lawudo Lama: Stories of Reincarnation from the Mount Everest Region. Boston: Wisdom. 2004. - (Note: Part 2: Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s story is given in a first-person narrative). Write 4-5pp (1200-1500 words) book review of the book you selected, and post it here using the format that is up there (CCNMTL staff can help with wiki postings if you have any trouble). Please start your paper with a one paragraph […]
Gongboo Sayrung. Tibetan Childhood. Xining: Plateau Publications. 2005. - Austin Barney A Review of Tibetan Childhood Tibetan Childhood is a well-written and engaging book which recounts the childhood memories of Gongboo Sayrung, a native of Kandze TAP, Sichuan. It begins with his birth in 1984 and ends with his acceptance to Kangding Normal School, and was published in 2005 with editorial assistance from Dr. […]
Namu, with Christine Mathieu. Leaving Mother Lake: A Childhood at the Edge of the World. Abacus, 2005. - (Note:By a Moso woman, a matrilineal people in Yunnan some of whom practice Tibetan Buddhism). Write 4-5pp (1200-1500 words) book review of the book you selected, and post it here using the format that is up there (CCNMTL staff can help with wiki postings if you have any trouble). Please start your paper with a […]
Shakabpa, Tsoltim N. Winds of Change: An Autobiography of a Tibetan [in verse]. Delhi: Paljor Publications, 2005. - (First published in 2003 as Recollections of a Tibetan, Baltimore, MD: Publish America, 2003). Write 4-5pp (1200-1500 words) book review of the book you selected, and post it here using the format that is up there (CCNMTL staff can help with wiki postings if you have any trouble). Please start your paper with a one […]
Konchok Tharchin & Konchok Namgyal; Francesca Merritt, ed. Recollections of Tibet. [s.l.]: [s.n.]. - Manuscript held at University of Oxford. Not for selection, (unless you will be in Oxford to read it!). c. 200?. For a review of the two autobiographical sources, see http://www.ladakhstudies.org/resources/Resources/LS20.pdf Write 4-5pp (1200-1500 words) book review of the book you selected, and post it here using the format that is up there (CCNMTL staff can […]
Belmo. In their Own Words: The True Stories of Nine Buddhist Monks’ Escape from Tibet. Twin Lakes, Wisconsin: Lotus Press, 2006 - Write 4-5pp (1200-1500 words) book review of the book you selected, and post it here using the format that is up there (CCNMTL staff can help with wiki postings if you have any trouble). Please start your paper with a one paragraph (150 word) abstract giving the following information: who the books is about, the […]
Dorjee, Lama Dudjom. Falling Off the Roof of the World: The Autobiography of the Venerable Lama Dudjom Dorjee. PA: Infinity Publishing, 2006. - The Autobiography of the Venerable Lama Dudjom Dorjee Summary Dudjom Dorjee was born to a nomadic family in eastern Tibet in the middle 20th century.[1] He was born near a mountain called Pa-ji-ri. He is the second child in his family. The first boy, however, died at age one or two. His father’s name was Karma […]
Soname Yangchen and Vicki Mackenzie. Child of Tibet: The Story of Soname’s Flight to Freedom. London: Portrait, 2006. - Write 4-5pp (1200-1500 words) book review of the book you selected, and post it here using the format that is up there (CCNMTL staff can help with wiki postings if you have any trouble). Please start your paper with a one paragraph (150 word) abstract giving the following information: who the books is about, the […]
Daja Wangchuk Meston, with Clare Ansberry. Comes the Peace: My Journey to Forgiveness. New York: Free Press. 2007. - Abstract: Comes the Peace: My Journey to Forgiveness is the memoir of Daja Wangchuk Meston (born 1970), a “white Tibetan.” Although he was the son of American parents, Meston was raised by a Tibetan noble family living in exile in Kathmandu, Nepal; by the age of six, he was sent to Kopan Monastery as a […]
Karma-Dondrup, (Kevin Stuart, editorial assistance). Tibetan Nomad Childhood. Xining City: Plateau Publications, 2007. (set in Mangra, Qinghai) - Write 4-5pp (1200-1500 words) book review of the book you selected, and post it here using the format that is up there (CCNMTL staff can help with wiki postings if you have any trouble). Please start your paper with a one paragraph (150 word) abstract giving the following information: who the books is about, the […]
Kondro Tsering. Chronicles of Tibetan Childhood, Kondro Tsering: A Ngawa Tibetan Childhood. Xining: Plateau Publications, 2007. - Abstract Kondro Tsering (mkha’ ‘gro tshe ring), the youngest son of an Amdo Tibetan peasant family, spent his childhood in an isolated farming community in Zorgay (mdzod dge) County, Ngawa (rnga ba) Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, in the 1980s and 1990s. In 2003, Kondro Tsering was selected to study English at the […]
Kondro Tsering. Chronicles of Tibetan Childhood, Kondro Tsering: A Ngawa Tibetan Childhood.Xining: Plateau Publications, 2007. - A Zorgay Tibetan Childhood by Kondro Tsering Review by Linnea Westerkam 24 March 2014 ABSTRACT A Zorgay Tibetan Childhood was written by Kondro Tsering. He grew up in a rural village in Amdo and wrote the story of his childhood while studying in an English Training Program at Qinghai Normal University in Xining City starting […]
Lobsang Wangyal. My Life, My Culture: Autobiography and Lectures on the Relationship between Tibetan Medicine, Buddhist Philosophy and Tibetan Astrology and Astronomy. Translated by Bhuchung D. Sonam and Dhondup Tsering, Dharamsala, India: 2007. - Abstract My Life My Culture is the autobiography of Dr. Lobsang Wangyal. Born in 1920 in Central Tibet, Lobsang Wangyal first entered a local monastery and then the Lhasa Medical School as a teenager. Following the Tibetan uprising of 1959 he was thrown in prison. However, after a period of time his medical training proved […]
Tsering Bum. A Northeastern Tibetan Childhood. Xining: Plateau Publications, 2007. - Stacey Van Vleet A Review of A Northeastern Tibetan Childhood Abstract: In A Northeastern Tibetan Childhood, Tsering Bum (Tshe ring ‘bum) gives a very personal account of growing up in a rural village in the Amdo region of Tibet, part of today’s Qinghai province of China. Tibetan culture and its perpetuation emerge as the central […]
Kleisath, C. Michelle, ed. Heavy Earth, Golden Sky: Tibetan Women Speak About Their Lives. Sherri’s Women’s Group USA, 2008. - Bilal Choudhry ABSTRACT Heavy Earth, Golden Sky provides a collection of autobiographies of ten women from the Kham and Amdo regions of Tibet. Compiled by C. Michelle Kleisath from students who either were attending or had already graduated from the English Training Program at Qinghai Normal University, these autobiographies give readers a brief look into […]
Tubten Khetsun. Memories of Life in Lhasa under Chinese Rule. Translated by Matthew Akester. New York: Columbia University Press. 2008. - Tubten Khétsun wrote Memories of Life in Lhasa Under Chinese Rule in 1996, in response to an open call by the Dalai Lama for Tibetans to record their personal experiences of life under Chinese occupation. The bulk of the narrative takes place in Lhasa—and nearby prisons, work camps, and farms—between 1959-1976, with brief accounts of […]
Tubten Khetsun. Memories of Life in Lhasa under Chinese Rule. Translated by Matthew Akester. New York: Columbia University Press. 2008. - Review by Zhang Huasha Abstract: This book portrays the prison and ‘reform’ experiences of a young Tibetan from a family of Tibetan government officials during the People’s Republic of China (PRC)’s occupation of Tibet after the 1959 uprising. In his book, Tubten Khétsun provides the readers with a vivid account of what the life of […]
Dilgo Khyentse. Brilliant Moon: The Autobiography of Dilgo Khyentse. Translated by Ani Jinba Palm. Boston: Shambhala, 2009. - Review by Misha Kaufman December 7, 2009 Book Review of Brilliant Moon: The Autobiography of Dilgo Khyentse Abstract: Brilliant Moon is the autobiography of Dilgo Khyentse, a reincarnated Tibetan Monk who achieved an extraordinary amount of spiritual success and was revered as a paradigm of the Tibetan faith. Dilgo Khyentse was born in Mahabhota, a […]
Garje Khamtrul Rinpoche. Memories of Lost and Hidden Lands: The Life Story of Garje Khamtrul Rinpoche. Chime Gatsel Ling, 2009. - Write 4-5pp (1200-1500 words) book review of the book you selected, and post it here using the format that is up there (CCNMTL staff can help with wiki postings if you have any trouble). Please start your paper with a one paragraph (150 word) abstract giving the following information: who the books is about, the […]
Kathog Situ Chokyi Gyatso. Togden Shakya Shri: The Life and Liberation of a Tibetan Yogin. Trans. Elio Guarisco. (Italy: Shangshung Edizioni) 2009. - Write 4-5pp (1200-1500 words) book review of the book you selected, and post it here using the format that is up there (CCNMTL staff can help with wiki postings if you have any trouble). Please start your paper with a one paragraph (150 word) abstract giving the following information: who the books is about, the […]
Xihedao. Xihedao and the Making of a Modern Kaleidescope, 美善唐卡. NP: Central Compilation and Translation Press. C. 2009. - Write 4-5pp (1200-1500 words) book review of the book you selected, and post it here using the format that is up there (CCNMTL staff can help with wiki postings if you have any trouble). Please start your paper with a one paragraph (150 word) abstract giving the following information: who the books is about, the […]
Sonam Doomtso (索朗东措). A Nomad Girl’s Changing World. Edited by CK Stuart, Asian Highlands Perspectives 19. 2011. - Review by Tony Senatore ABSTRACT A Nomad Girl’s Changing World is the autobiography of Sonam Doomsto (Ch. Suolang Dongcuo). Her story begins with her birth in early winter in the Year of the Rabbit in 1987, and culminates in Sonam receiving her Associate’s Degree from Qinghai Normal University in 2008. It is an inspiring story […]
Rdo rje tshe brtan. A Tewo Tibetan Childhood. Xining City: Plateau Publications. 2012. [Asian Highlands Perspectives, Vol. 23, pp. 1-150, 2013] - A Tewo Tibetan Childhood is an autobiographical recounting of Dorjé Tsetan’s (Rdo rje tshe brtan) aberrant Tibetan childhood in Têwo County, China. His story begins with his birth in 1988 and culminates upon receiving his Masters Degree in Anthropology from Silliman University in the Philippines in 2010.
Tshes bcu lha mo. Mushroom Ghosts, Belligerent Yaks, and Cranberry Cocktails: A Brag ‘go Woman’s Early Life. Xining City: Plateau Publications. 2012. - Tshes bcu lha mo. Mushroom Ghosts, Belligerent Yaks, and Cranberry Cocktails: A Brag ‘go Woman’s Early Life. Xining City: Plateau Publications. 2012. http://tibetanplateau.wikischolars.columbia.edu/Volume+Twenty-Nine Reviewed by Tsechu Dolma Tsechu Lhamo’s inspiring story is a twenty first century book on how hard work and education can change the lives of the underprivileged from Tibet. Lhamo was born […]
Sadutshang, Tseyang. My Youth in Tibet: Recollections of a Tibetan Woman. Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works & Archives, 2012. - Tseyang Sadutshang’s My Youth in Tibet is both an autobiography of the author and a biography of her uncle, Reting Rinpoche. The author’s story, as told to Yangdol Tsatultsang, was published in 2012 and presents these two different but interconnected narratives, making the work about both individuals if not placing greater emphasis on her uncle’s story.
Keyzom, Tsering & Zevon, Sanford S. My Journey to Freedom: One Girl’s Survival Story. Scotts Valley, California: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2012. - Sofia Riva Abstract My Journey to Freedom is the autobiography of Tsering Keyzom. Her story recounted through conversation sessions with Dr. Sanford S. Zevon at a local community college, begins in Amdo, a nomadic village in Tibet where she lived with her family, and ends in Westchester, New York way of Kathmandu, New Dehli, and Dharamsala. […]
Nulo, Naktsang. My Tibetan Childhood: When Ice Shattered Stone. Durham: Duke University Press, 2014. - Abstract Born in a small village named Madey Chukama in Golok, Amdo region, Naktsang Nulo’s autobiography mainly records the story of his childhood. A cutting line in his life was PLA’s occupation. He witnessed Tibetan monks being forced to smash their monasteries and lamas being beaten to death by the locals. His father tried to […]
Gyalo Thondup and Anne F. Thurston. The Noodle Maker of Kalimpong. New York: Public Affairs, 2015. - == Gyalo Thondup, older brother of the fourteenth Dalai Lama, erstwhile CIA collaborator, and longtime exile-government liaison to China, wrote The Noodle Maker of Kalimpong (with coauthor Anne Thurston) in 2015. An autobiographical account of Tibet’s ongoing struggle for independence, Noodle Maker primarily centers on the author’s political life, from 1945-1999, but also provides insight […]
Sadutshang, Rinchen. A Life Unforeseen: A Memoir of Service to Tibet. Somerville: Wisdom Publications, 2016. - Rinchen Sadutshang was born (1928-2015) in Lingtsang village, Karze town of Trehor valley in Kham. His journey to Lhasa and life thereafter unfolds in 1934 at the age of five and covers key moments for him till 2006; from early childhood in Kham to Lhasa, Kalimpong, Darjeeling, Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta, China, US, Japan, Thailand, Bhutan.
Rinpoche, Trijang. The Magical Play of Illusion: The Autobiography of Trijang Rinpoche. Somerville: Wisdom Publications, 2018. - Jeffrey Daniel Torborg Abstract Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche’s The Magical Play of Illusion: The Autobiography of Trijang Rinpoche (2018) recounts his life from the year of his birth in 1901 until 1975, six years before his death in 1981. A student and then monk at Ganden Monastery in Lhasa, Trijang Rinpoche describes his early training in […]
Losal Rinpoche, Yeshe. From a Mountain In Tibet: A Monk’s Journey. Penguin Life, 2021. - Hiroki Sato ABSTRACT: Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche (Jampal Drakpa) was born in Darak, Kham in 1943. He is the Abbot of Kagyu Samye Ling Monastery and Tibetan Centre, as well as the director of the Holy Island Project in Scotland. His autobiography covers the twist and turns of his life, such as the Chinese invasion […]
Tsarong, Paljor. The Life and Times of George Tsarong of Tibet, 1920–1970: A Lord of the Traditional Tibetan State. Rowman & Littlefield, 2022. - The Life and Times of George Tsarong of Tibet, 1920-1970 Written by Paljor Tsarong (2022). Abstract Paljor Tsarong’s book “The Life and Times of George Tsarong of Tibet, 1920-1970” is a very recent addition to the writings on the history of twentieth century Tibet. The author portrays to us a detailed biographical account of his […]
Non-fiction written by (or in cooperation with) Tibetans still in Tibet:
Kevin Stuart, Tshe dbang rdo rje and Alexandru Anton-Luca. Tibetan Weddings in Ne’u na Village. Xining: Plateau Publications, 2006. - Write 4-5pp (1200-1500 words) book review of the book you selected, and post it here using the format that is up there (CCNMTL staff can help with wiki postings if you have any trouble). Please start your paper with a one paragraph (150 word) abstract giving the following information: who the books is about, the […]
Blo brtan rdo rje and Kevin Stuart. Marriage in Skya rgya Tibetan Village. Xining: Plateau Publications, 2007. - Write 4-5pp (1200-1500 words) book review of the book you selected, and post it here using the format that is up there (CCNMTL staff can help with wiki postings if you have any trouble). Please start your paper with a one paragraph (150 word) abstract giving the following information: who the books is about, the […]
Historical Fiction and Other Genres:
Amundsen, Edward. In the Land of the Lamas: The Story of Trashi Lhamo, a Tibetan Lassie. London/Edinborough: Marshall Bros. 1910. - Write 4-5pp (1200-1500 words) book review of the book you selected, and post it here using the format that is up there (CCNMTL staff can help with wiki postings if you have any trouble). Please start your paper with a one paragraph (150 word) abstract giving the following information: who the books is about, the […]
Shelton, Albert L. Pioneering in Tibet: A Personal Record of Life and Experience in Mission Fields. New York: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1921. - Christina Stoltz Review of Shelton, Albert L. Pioneering in Tibet: A Personal Record of Life and Experience in Mission Fields. New York: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1921. Abstract: Dr. Albert Shelton (1875-1922) was an American medical doctor and Christian missionary in Kham in the early twentieth century. In his autobiography, written while taking a yearlong […]
Lama Yongden. Mipam. 1938. [Indian reprint 1971; SUNY reprint 1987]. - (Note: Mipam, the first novel written especially for Westerners by a Tibetan Lama, was originally published in 1938. “…while camping with my mother by adoption, the explorer Alexandra David-Neel, amid the vast solitudes of Northern Tibet, I happened to speak once more of the distress I had experienced on seeing the people and things of […]
Ekvall, Robert Brainerd. Tents against the Sky. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Young. 1954. - Write 4-5pp (1200-1500 words) book review of the book you selected, and post it here using the format that is up there (CCNMTL staff can help with wiki postings if you have any trouble). Please start your paper with a one paragraph (150 word) abstract giving the following information: who the books is about, the […]
Ekvall, Robert Brainerd. The Lama knows: a Tibetan legend is born. Novato, Calif.: Chandler & Sharp Publishers, 1981. - Write 4-5pp (1200-1500 words) book review of the book you selected, and post it here using the format that is up there (CCNMTL staff can help with wiki postings if you have any trouble). Please start your paper with a one paragraph (150 word) abstract giving the following information: who the books is about, the […]
Yeshi Tenzin. The Defiant Ones. Translated by David Kwan. Beijing: Chinese Literature Press, 1993. - The Defiant Ones By Yeshi Tenzin A Book Review by Jack Wilson On the surface, The Defiant Ones by Yeshi Tenzin seems to do little other than extol the values and ideologies of the Chinese Communist Party. Set in Yangde County, much of the story is centered on a peasant revolt staged in Dengye village […]
Tailing, W. (Bras gling Dbang rdor, Brag gdong). The Secret Tale of Tesur House. Beijing, China: China Tibetology Pub. House, 1998. - Travis B. Thurber 30 May 2007 A Review of The Secret of Tesur House Abstract: The Secret of Tesur House is a book of historical fiction written in 1993 by W. Tailing, a teacher and a native of Tibet. The narrative follows the adventures of Drugye, a Tibetan commoner, as he struggles through a life […]
Alai. Red Poppies. Translated by Howard Goldblatt and Sylvia Li-chun. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002. - Sara Canby 23 April 2007 (Note: Originally in Chinese) A Review of Red Poppies Red Poppies, a novel by Alai, a Tibetan who lives in China, recounts the decline of the Maichi family and the decline of the ruling chieftains in general upon the Communist victory in 1959. The work is narrated by the Idiot, […]
Rinjing Dorje. The Renegade Monk of Tibet. Edmonds, WA: Banyan Press, 2005. - Write 4-5pp (1200-1500 words) book review of the book you selected, and post it here using the format that is up there (CCNMTL staff can help with wiki postings if you have any trouble). Please start your paper with a one paragraph (150 word) abstract giving the following information: who the books is about, the […]
Guhruh. Jahzong: Tibetan Tribal Leader. Xining: Plateau Publications, 2005. - Write 4-5pp (1200-1500 words) book review of the book you selected, and post it here using the format that is up there (CCNMTL staff can help with wiki postings if you have any trouble). Please start your paper with a one paragraph (150 word) abstract giving the following information: who the books is about, the […]
Xinran. Sky Burial: An Epic Love Story of Tibet. Translated by Julia Lovell and Esther Tyldesleytors. New York: Nan A. Talese/Doubleday, 2005. - Julia Kirchner 04-28-07 (Note: Originally in Chinese) A Review of Sky Burial Sky Burial is story told by the Chinese author Xinran about a Chinese woman from Suzhou who spent thirty years in Tibet during the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution and the reform years. Her story offers the perspective of a traditional Chinese […]