Tibet: A Culture on the Edge

Firsthand accounts and spectacular photographs combine to form a fascinating portrait of the endangered Tibetan people, their plateau, and their cultural landscape. Known as the -water tower of Asia, - the Tibetan Plateau is heating up twice as fast as the global average. These rapidly melting glaciers-along with recent unprecedented development on the plateau-are quickly changing the lives of the deeply devotional nomads, monks, and farmers who have lived in this area for centuries. Photographer Phil Borges uses individual stories and portraits to illustrate how dramatic development, climate change, and the deep devotion of the Tibetan people are interacting to transform Tibetan culture. The portraits of the land and the people bring a powerful visual component as the reader meets and learns about Tibet firsthand through these storytellers.

About the Author :
Phil Borges has lived with and documented indigenous and tribal cultures around the world for twenty-five years, and his photographs are exhibited in museums and galleries worldwide. Through his work, he strives to create a heightened understanding of the issues faced by people in the developing world. He is the author of Tibetan Portrait, Enduring Spirit, and Women Empowered.

Review :
"Phil Borges' images are some of the finest portraits I have ever seen, and like those of Edward C. Curtis, they are also precious, documenting a vanishing way of life. Look, care and be reassured by the beauty of the human spirit." Ann Curry, "NBC News " "PHOTO BOOKS OF THE YEAR WINNER: Documentary & Photojournalism In his fifth monograph, Borges explores both the indigenous lifestyles of the Tibetan people and their grand surroundings--each threatened by forces including industrial development, climate change and ongoing political tension between Tibet and the People's Republic of China. Forged over 17 years of periodic visits, Borges's affinity with the hardy natives informs the book's illuminating text and warm portraits alike." "American Photo ""Ethnographic, environmental, and aesthetic--this book is a triple win. Photographer Phil Borges returned to Tibet after 15 years to make this panoramic portrait of a people and place that are drastically changing. Intimate portraits, luminous landscapes, and religious structures are paired with poignant, dignified commentary. Borges hopes his chromatically radiant, vital document sounds alarms and helps preserve aspects of a vanishing existence--a noble and ennobling vision." "The Brooklyn Rail ""Award-winning photographer Phil Borges, who has made the plight of indigenous people a focus of his work, assembled this collection of vivid photographs and interviews with ordinary Tibetans. He had been there 15 years earlier, and was shocked at the seismic changes that had taken place in the interim. His book focuses on these shifts--how, for example, climate change and intense development by the Chinese government have affected the people and the landscape--while also noting what has remained steadfast: Tibetans' Buddhist faith. Borges's gorgeous images, combined with the residents' heartfelt observations, offer dramatic documentation of the truth of this sacred region." The "Washington Post ""T