My Land and My People: The Original Autobiography of His Holiness the Dalai Lama of Tibet

This book is a wonderful, simple, and quick read. Of course the subject matter does get unpleasant, but it's good to know the facts from the perspective of His Holiness at the time that he wrote it in 1962. The book tells the story which everyone knows: how the Chinese invaded Tibet and the Dalai Lama was forced to feel to India. But this book goes in to detail and as a reader, it was great to finally get the "real" details of that story, again from his perspective. Prior to reading this, I only knew the story based on films and summaries in guide books, etc. I highly recommend this book, and I would suggest reading this one prior to reading his second autobiography, "Freedom in Exile" from the early 1990's.

The cry to "free Tibet" takes on new meaning and a more personal conviction after reading this book. This original autobiograhpy, published in 1962, is an intimate narrative of the Dalai Lama's life from his humble beginnings as the son of a Tibetan farmer to his evolution as the greatest spiritual leader known to the modern world. It is also the story of a young man struggling with responsibilities that are unimaginable for someone so young and of a remarkable people who were willing to give up their lives in order to protect their unique way of life. But, more importantly, this book tells the story of an attempt by a mighty military power to eliminate a small peace-loving culture thus eliminating it's religion, a religion based simply on having compassion for all living things. In this regard, the efforts of the mighty power failed. The government of China may have been successful in taking the beautiful land from the Tibetans (thanks in part to the rest of the world turning a blind eye to what was happening) but the culture and religion is still thriving thanks to the efforts of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and his government in exile. In conclusion, this book reminds us that we all need to be aware of how frangible freedom is and that all peace-loving people must join hands throughout the world, regardless of cultural and religious beliefs, to protect that precious thing called freedom.

Whether you are a fan of H.H. Dalai Lama or not, this book is fascinating. It is written with the energy of a young man in a passionate struggle to save his people. It will grip, inspire and anger you. Read the book, and you'll be moved to give your support to the Dalai Lama and the people of Tibet in their fight for freedom.

H.H.the Dalai Lama, as he is known to we Tibetans, is an amazing personality. I have read this book in Tibetan when I was about 16 years old. His sincerety will touch you, his genorisity will move you and his compassion will transform you into a better human being. I live in Taiwan now. One of my Taiwanese journalist friends went on to interview him. She had prepared lot of questions for His Holiness. She later told me that when she met him in person, she forgot all her questions and just felt like asking him one question: "What is the purpose of life and why we are here on this earth?" Such is the power of his presence and the charm of his compassion. The book is one of his earliest works. A must read for anyone willing to be a better human being.

It was still my best ever biography and i read it when I am 12 yrs old in India and now i am in usa and i am really very proud of Tibet's HH THE DALAI LAMA.FREE TIBET yega