I first bought this book when I was about 16 or so – for some reason I didn’t get around to finishing it until now. It’s really a fascinating read about Tibet and the history of its exploration. I’ve seen those “Free Tibet” bumperstickers around, but never really knew what they meant – this book gave me some insight as to why Tibet is so revered and the history of the Chinese oppression. The author keeps the chapters fairly short and doesn’t get bogged down by too many details – interesting slice of history.