The best part about travel books...? You see the entire world sitting within the four walls. The wonderful things the writer saw, his exhilarating experiences, the people he meets, all seem like they're happening to us as a first person.
Same applies to this travelogue. There is quite less the world knows about Tibet, and this book is the first person account of a German mountaineer who escapes British prison in India during WWII and seeks shelter in Tibet. His numerious encounters with Tibetan people, escapades from authorities and wonderful description of the Tibetan natural beauty and simple people, make you want to visit this place as well. The book has excellent details about Tibetan festivals, culture, superstitions and most importantly, the Dalai Lama, who is the centre of Tibetan life there, with whom the writer strikes a friendship, and gives a never-before detailed story of Dalai Lama in 1940s.
All in all, this book was a great read, but probably little fragmented, and lacked some continuity. Hence the 4 stars..