The Tibetan History Reader

Answering a critical need for an accurate, in-depth history of Tibet, this single-volume resource reproduces essential, hard-to-find essays from the past fifty years of Tibetan studies. Covering the social, cultural, and political development of Tibet from the seventh century to the modern period, the volume is organized chronologically and regionally to complement courses in Asian and religious studies and world civilizations. Beginning with Tibet’s emergence as a regional power and concluding with its profound contemporary transformations, this anthology offers both a general and specific history, connecting the actions of individuals, communities, and institutions to broader historical trends that shaped Asia and the world. With contributions from American, French, German, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, and Tibetan scholars, the collection reflects the international character of Tibetan studies and its multiple, interdisciplinary perspectives. Contributors address many aspects of Tibetan culture frequently neglected in popular accounts, and the editors render Tibetan person and place names in an easy-to-pronounce phonetic system—a key component increasing the volume’s accessibility. They also standardize complex and sometimes cryptic references to cited works, clearing the path for additional research in directly related and peripheral fields. By far the most concise scholarly anthology on Tibetan civilization in any Western language, this reader clarifies the history of Tibet, its relation to its neighbors, and its role in world affairs.

About the Author :
Gray Tuttle is the Leila Hadley Luce Assistant Professor of Modern Tibet in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at Columbia University. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University and is the author of Tibetan Buddhists in the Making of Modern China and the editor of Mapping the Modern in Tibet. Kurtis R. Schaeffer is professor in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Virginia. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University and is the author of The Culture of the Book in Tibet and several other books, including Himalayan Hermitess: The Life of a Tibetan Buddhist Nun.

Review :
There has long been an interest in the Tibetan civilization and, in particular, Tibetan Buddhism. Yet general readers are less familiar with the history and the development of both secular and religious institutions in the Tibetan world. Tuttle and Schaeffer have gathered some of the most current and definitive writings by leading international scholars in the field that demonstrate high-level research on all aspects of Tibetan history over the past decades. These works deal with the earliest period to more recent developments, providing a comprehensive and authoritative survey. The Tibetan History Reader will be an indispensable resource for students and anybody with an interest in Tibet.--Tsering Shakya, Institute of Asian Research, University of British Columbia This book brings together the very best scholarship of the last half century. Supplemented with a useful timeline and an extensive bibliography, The Tibetan History Reader will remain the standard scholarly reference for a long time to come. A real tour de force.--José Ignacio Cabezón, University of California Santa Barbara Students and other readers wishing to obtain an overview of the contemporary field of Tibetan Studies could not do better than to get [The Tibetan History Reader and Sources of Tibetan Tradition].--Sam van Schaik "Journal of the American Oriental Society"