Reading Tibet
Read and Recommended: Books by Dervla Murphy, Lobsang P. Lhalungpa, Colin Thubron, Peter Matthiessen, Alexandra David–Neel, Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche, Heinrich Harrer and Sogyal Rinpoche.
Dervla Murphy
In 1963, Murphy was working in a refugee camp for Tibetans fleeing into northern India. Her affection for the people — especially the children, or “Tiblets” — is unmistakable. Tibetan Foothold is a powerful memoir of resilience in the years following the annexation of Tibet. A classic travel book.
Tibet: The Sacred Realm, Photographs 1880-1950
Lobsang P. Lhalungpa
A treasure trove of images taken by the first Westerners who gained access to the secretive Himalayan Kingdom – illuminating a Buddhist way of life that had remained unchanged since the Middle Ages. The images were made on large-format cameras and are beautiful and otherworldly. I posted a copy of this book back to my Tibetan guide and driver, as it is unavailable in Tibet. They messaged me back saying they were “astonished”.
Colin Thubron
Thubron’s tenth travel book follows his journey on foot to Mount Kailash through remote regions of Nepal and Tibet. More personal than his earlier work, it traces his inner journey too — written in his characteristically immaculate prose.
Peter Matthiessen
Matthiessen’s account of a two‑month expedition with naturalist George Schaller in the Dolpo region blends Zen Buddhism, travel, and nature writing. A search for the rarely seen snow leopard becomes something deeper — a book I found hard to put down.
Alexandra David–Neel
David‑Neel was the first European woman to enter Lhasa, in 1924. She received teachings from the Dalai Lama and recorded esoteric practices — from yogis surviving sub‑zero temperatures to monks who seemed to defy gravity. Her matter‑of‑fact tone makes the extraordinary feel strangely plausible.
Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche
Lama Yeshe’s memoir begins in rural Tibet, where he didn’t see a car until he was fifteen. After escaping to India during the Tibetan Uprising — one of only 13 survivors out of 300 — his life takes him from excess in America to monastic leadership in Scotland. A remarkable, candid story.
Heinrich Harrer
Harrer, an Austrian mountaineer, escaped an English internment camp in 1943 and spent the next seven years in Tibet. The writing is plain, but the journey — a 1,000‑mile trek and his eventual friendship with the Dalai Lama — makes this an enduring travel classic, later adapted into a film.
The Tibetan Book Of Living And Dying
Sogyal Rinpoche
“What is born will die, What has been gathered will be dispersed, What has been accumulated will be exhausted, What has been built up will collapse, And what has been high will be brought low.” This is a book for those who want to go deeper into Tibetan wisdom. It’s one of the books that started my enduring fascination with Tibet. Oh, and Billy Connolly apparently recommends the book too.
Links go to Amazon. All non‑affiliate.