Seven Years in Tibet （Heinrich Harrer）

A landmark in travel writing, Seven Years in Tibet is the incredible true story of Heinrich Harrer’s escape across the Himalayas to Tibet, set against the backdrop of the Second World War.
 
The astonishing adventure classic about life in Tibet just before the Chinese Communist takeover is now repackaged for a new generation of readers. In this vivid memoir that has sold millions of copies worldwide, Heinrich Harrer recounts his adventures as one of the first Europeans ever to enter Tibet and encounter the Dalai Lama.
 
Heinrich Harrer, already a famous mountaineer and Olympic ski champion, was caught by the outbreak of the Second World War while climbing in the Himalayas. Being an Austrian, he was interned in India. By an almost super-human effort, and on his third attempt, he succeeded in escaping from the internment camp and fled into Tibet.
 
After a series of remarkable experiences in a country never crossed before by a Westerner, Harrer reached the forbidden city of Lhasa. He stayed there for seven years, learned the language and acquired a greater understanding of Tibet and the Tibetans than any Westerner had ever before achieved. He became the friend and tutor of the young Dalai Lama and finally accompanied him into India when he was put to flight by the Red Chinese invasion.
 
Heinrich Harrer (1912-2006) was an Austrian mountaineer, sportsman, geographer, and author. He is best known for being on the four-man climbing team that made the first ascent of the North Face of the Eiger in Switzerland, and for his books Seven Years in Tibet (1952) and The White Spider (1959).