Heinrich Harrer, already a famous mountaineer and Olympic ski champion, was climbing in the Himalayas when the Second World War erupted in Europe. An Austrian national, he was imprisoned by the British in India. With an almost super-human effort, he succeeded in escaping from the internment camp and fled into Tibet and the forbidden city of Lhasa, the first Westerner to lay eyes on this holiest of places.

For seven years Harrer learned the language and acquired a greater understanding of the Tibetans than any Westerner had ever before achieved. He became the friend and tutor of the young Dalai Lama and finally accompanied him to India when he fled the Red Chinese invasion. A travel-writing landmark, this is a stunning story of incredible courage and self-reliance set against the backdrop of a mysterious and magnificent culture.