Secret Tibet — Fosco Maraini

In this book, Fosco Maraini recounts his travels to Tibet in 1939 and 1948, before it fell to China. He brings back to life a world which will never be seen again. In the tradition of Italian travellers from the days of Marco Polo, Maraini went to Tibet to learn, to understand, to give, and to receive. His encounter with the people of Tibet, from princesses to peasants, aided as he was by a good knowledge of the language, is a true meeting of minds. The text, which attests to the disciplines of the scholar allied to the sensitivity of the poet, is enriched by the narrative value of the author's photographs, including many Buddhist temple artifacts now forever lost.