SUMMARY: An overview of Tibet, Roof of the World, whose cruel takeover by the Chinese in 1951 began the darkest period in that country's history. This description may be from another edition of this product.
An excellent book on Tibet for Junior High students
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 22 years ago
This volume on "Tibet" by Ann Heinrichs for the Enchantment of the World series is actually aimed at Grades 6-9 (Age 11-14), and not high school students, as you will realize as soon as you begin reading. Heinrichs begins with the idea of Shambhala (called Shangri-La by some), the enchanted kingdom that is a paradise of matchless beauty, hidden somewhere in the mountains of Tibet. The Tibetans call their home the "Land of Snows," but to outsides it is called the "Roof of the World" because it occupies the highest part of the Earth. It is within the context of those exotic names that Heinrichs begins to explore the Geography of Tibet, which leads to a look at the People of Tibet; their Daily Life and Customs; a their Religion, Culture, and Arts. Heinrichs then takes several chapters to develop the history of Tibet, from being a Buddhist Kingdom, to The Rule of the Dalai Lamas, and the situation today with Tibet Under China. A chapter is devoted to The Dalai Lama and the Exile that tells not only how the fourteenth and current Dalai Lama was selected but the efforts to have a Tibetan government in exile, reflected in the unique Tibetan constitution that combines a Buddhist outlook with modern issues such as conservation and nuclear warfare. Government and Economy contrasts the Dalai Lama's theocracy with the communist government of the People's Republic of China, while a final chapter looks at the Monasteries, Temples, and Treasures to be seen in Tibet, including the great Potala Palace on Lhasa's Red Hill. What we have here is an excellent source of information on Tibet that should serve the research needs of any young students. Between the table of contents and the index, finding information on anything from the Nomads and their Yaks to the Lhasa Uprising against the Chinese should be relatively easy. Even with regards to such general topics as geography Heinrichs provides appropriate informational categories that will help students develop their research papers fully. As always in the Enchantment of the World series, the back of this volume includes a "Mini-Facts at a Glance" section with General Information (e.g., Official Name, Ethnic Composition) along with specifics on Geography (e.g., Mountains, Wildlife), Economy and Industry (e.g., Agriculture, Transportation), Everyday Life (e.g., Health, Education), Important Dates from the founding of Tibet's first Buddhist monastery in 779 to the political turmoil over the Dalai Lama naming a six-year-old boy from a remote nomad village as the eleventh Panchen Lama in 1995, and a list of Important People (e.g., Gedun Drup, Padmasambhava). The book is illustrated with mostly color photographs, which probably works out to about a picture a page, that reinforce the textual information. The Enchantment of the World series consists of dozens of volumes on every country from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, making it an ideal collection to have in a school library since it can accomodate three or four
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