Recently I had the opportunity to travel to the Eiger's North face. While in Grindelwald, I came across a copy of "The White Spider" and simply had to pick it up. Harrer's sensitivity toward the mountains that were his life and to his peers is unparalled. This sensitivity is intertwined throughout the book in not only his own first ascent of the face, but the subsequent successes and tragedies that occurred there. An incredible, heartfelt and wonderfully written book made even more fantastic when you can witness where it all took place.

I read this book 28 year ago. I have since been to the N. face of the Eiger to look at it and reflect on this book. It is a great book involving the will of man and his determination to overcome obstacles. Over my life time, when I have thought that things were going rough, I have thought of this book and the story of these men. I am now looking for a copy of this book and have an open order with Amazon. I highly recommend this book to all parents of teen age children. It will be well worth reading to all of you. The specific situation is less relevant than the more global significance of the lessons of commitment, loyalty and endurance.

I find it hard to believe this book is out of print considering Harrer's coming back into the vogue with "Seven Years in Tibet" on film. So many people are reading "Into Thin Air" and the latest mountain climbing spectaculars. I urge you to go back to the basics and read this book which is the best of them all. "Harrowing" best describes this history of the North Wall of the Eiger.

What a lovely book! Engrossing illustration of a way of life destroyed by the Chinese conquerors. I love reading Buddhist writings, but I think this would appeal even to those who are not interested in Buddhism, as Harrer seems to be not particularly religious and he concentrates on the everyday life of Tibetans in Lhasa.

This pictorial book was to coincide with the release of the epic movie based on the classic memoir of Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer. The book contains scripts, location stills of Tibet, and hundreds of photo stills from the making and the movie itself. Knowing that due to the Chinese opposition parts of the scenes from the movie were actually shot in South America, I was somehow disappointed. But the pictorial still adds grciously to my Tibet collection.

The book is very....real.The author described everything in great detail.Brad Pitt's character was also very realistic in how the author projected him.Also has many cool facts on Tibet(customs ang religion),the many characters had very interesting personalities.Brad Pitt's character had alot of character,the way the author projected.Good book.Read it.

I found Richard Graves English translation to be excellent. One can almost feel the cold nights and the pain of Harrer's trek up from India to Lhasa. His appreciation of the customs and desire to learn from them is something much needed today as Americans try to understand Tibet. This is a good book to begin with in gaining background. He is not a theologian or historian but gives a much needed glimpse of Tibet fifty years ago. Knowing the past makes the future brighter.

Not being a writer, Harrer has created a very pleasant book describing his years as a prisoner in India, his escapes, and his travels through Tibet as he and his companion Aufschnaiter try to reach Tibet's forbidden city, Lhasa. The narrative is smooth, making the reader walk with them as they deceive Tibet's authorities and thieves, finding friendship among the nomads, spending months across the country. Reaching Lhasa, the story changes to the way of life of the Tibetans, and his own, as he comes to consider Tibet his new home. He is able to picture the religious festivities, the fundaments of their budhaism, the social skills, the way the people see their God-king, the Dalai Lama. The only part of the story I think is not well developed enough is his relationship with the Dalai Lama, he spents only the last final two chapters with it. The end of the book is a little too quick, which represents the way he was forced by the chinese to leave Tibet. A very good book, and one can learn a lot about Tibet with it. The real stuff, not the kind of things you hear when some fancy movie star says he's budhist.

Few western men reached the legendary city of Lhasa deep into the ancient kingdom of Tibet. Heinrich Harrer was one of them. He is a man of simple, but precise words. There is no highly sophisticated literary style in his writing only the truth and for me that is still the best poetry I can think of. This book tells the real tale of an extraordinary and perilous voyage into an unknown land an an even less known society. Despite the terrain and cultural barriers in front of him the author succeded in escaping his persecutors and penetrating the world of the high society of Tibet with awesome skill and determination. Yet this peaceful world was about to fall at the feet of the Chinese conquerors I believe that like the book of Marco Polo Harrer's book will remain among the great adventure books of history. Aside from being a declaration of war against the cruel Chinese conquerors and their powerful, brutal regime this book stands as a great hymn of freedom, determination and human friendship even among different cultures.

30th of August of 1999

I read this book in April 1997 (before that bad movie was shown) and it was the only one in our school library, unread and unnoticed in the archives section. It was one of the best true-to-life adventures one can read. The book I read looked as though it has not been touched by anyone, as indicated by the cataloging sheet inside. Such a shame. Harrer said it all well in the end when he remarked, "It is disturbing what people consider important; here in Tibet, the yak dictates the pace of life," or something to that effect. Indeed, every true Asian should be reading this account on their neighbors before they get deluded by visions of economic growth and more stressful living. It is doing them wrong to dismiss the Tibetans as "simple" people; rather, everyone could find in this book that there is dignity in not being part of what is "modern." From the passionate eyes of a European adventurer, Asians and Westerners alike should discover what they've been missing. Marvel at Harrer's daring escape from the POW camp, his accounts of the people's way of life and spirituality, his respect for the Himalayas' majesty and his strong attachment to the Tibetans (He calls himself and friend Aufschnaiter half-Tibetans). Having loved Tibet for what it offered him, you can even forgive Harrer if he hated the Chinese for what they did.

Of all the books I've read on Tibet (about 6), this stands out as the most personal account. Thubten Jigme Norbu, eldest brother of the Dalai Lama tells in tender detail about his childhood as the son of Tibetan peasants, his discovery as an incarnate lama, and his life in the Buddhist monasteries. It's interesting to read about this earlier perspective of the Dalai Lama's family members. Thubten Jigme Norbu learned of his brother's discovery as the Dalai Lama, and of his flight from Tibet to India from a distance. He mentions that because of the great differences in age, and the distance between their home and the monasteries where they were installed, the first time he and all his brothers ever sat down to dinner together was after the Chinese occupation. I really enjoyed reading about the little details of his early life, and the great amount of emotion in his story.

What came across in this story of Tibetan life before and after the Chinese occupation, is the sweet, gentle, and loving nature of the two authors. This is the story of a tragedy, but is not depressing. I've been recommending this book to friends because it is very uplifting and encouraging, besides being very readable. The Tibetans really had something in their culture that was of value, a pervading spirituality that was cheerful and peaceful. And yet, they didn't feel any need to convert others or force their religion on anyone. The authors of "Tibet is My Country" don't address the corruption in the Tibetan government or other problems, but those issues are realistically addressed by the Dalai Lama himself in "Freedom in Exile." This is a light charming nostalgic look at a lost way of life.

A book which I found fascinating and gripping, but which I also found disappointing in several ways. The author researched the Eiger exhaustively, and his accounts are filled with details which bring them alive.

But I have three complaints about the book. First, the author at times spent too long writing about the philosophical aspect of climbing, and climbing the Eiger in particular. Thus the books starts off slowly, but once he gets to the actual climb stories, it picks up nicely. Second, I think the translation from German is wretched. Numerous times I had to reread tortured convoluted sentences. (I blame this on the translator since "Seven Years in Tibet" doesn't have this problem.)

The biggest flaw, however, is that the accounts end in 1964. Much of interest has happened since then such as the diretissima attempts. The only mention of these are brief descriptions given in a time-line in an appendix.

Its flaws notwithstanding, I did enjoy the book and do recommend it, but would love another book describing in equal detail the history from 1964 to present.

Harrers classic tale of the famous mountain face inspired me, last spring, to successfully climb the north face of that mountain. The book is the bible for many Eiger dreamers like myself. Any questions write me at Paul_kiernan@landon.net. Thanks.

I have spent every free second the last few days to read this magnificent book on the Eiger ascents, and is truly a big fan of those climbers both those who who tried and failed and those who succeded.

The Eiger North face has been a magnet to me the last 15 years, and after wisiting Grindelwald and the JungfrauBahn this book is really a magnificent source of information. Harrer write not only his own story, but also manage to bring me along the other ascents he describes. This is definately the volume to read before anyone try to climb this mountain.

Well done Mr Harrer!!!

This is a truely fascinating autobiography. His escapes from the prisoners' camp during the war and the adventures on the way to the forbidden Lhasa by foot really match an "Indiana Jones" fiction, just that it is real and only happened 50 years ago. Harrer has a very ofjective style of writing, although the German he uses is a little bit old fashioned and as he is not a writer, his style is not very poetic. Nevertheless, for someone interested in Tibet, it gives an authentic and unmystified picture of what this country looked like before the occupation. Read it as an amazing lifestory and insight in a unique culture.

After reading Seven Years in Tibet, this book (which I managed to pick up in Pilgrims bookshop in Kathmandu, after visiting Tibet myself in 1998) came across more as a thesis, compared to the story like format of the former book. Return to Tibet concerns Heinrich Harrer's return to Lhasa in 1982 as part of one of the first tour groups to enter Tibet after China began to open up after Mao and the Cultural Revolution. He compare the Lhasa and Tibet he knew over thirty years before with that he saw on his return. He also manages to break away from the group he was with and meet some of the people he used to know - again, the differences in these people show a sharp contrast.

Whereas Seven Years in Tibet is an easy read, this is a lot heavier going. To be honest, I felt that Heinrich Harrer spent too much time lamenting the old days which made for not one the most memorable reads. That said, if only to show how much had changed, it is still interesting from a historical point of view and what caught my attention most was the changes between the Heinrich Harrer's visit in 1982 and my own trip their in 1998 (for example, on the good side monasteries being rebuilt, easier to get around Tibet, but not so good was the development of Lhasa into a modern city with less character, with a very large influx of non-Tibetans into Tibet in general).

I found Mr. Harrer's account of his return to Tibet after Chinese occupation an interesting account from a factual point of view, but it was rather dry from a reader point of view. If you are interested in Tibet, I would recommend it; if you are interested in a good story, I would not.

It is amazing that Henrich Harrer has written separate accounts on Tibet, the roof of thw world, with incredible disparity in emotions. The successor of "Seven Years in Tibets", "Return to Tibet" records the author's revisit 30 years after his departure in 1950. "Return to Tibet" is often regarded as the continuation of "Seven Years in Tibet", except that readers shouldn't read it as a travelogue. Interwoven with the once-vivid and jocund recollection of the country, Harrer contrasted the dismal Tibet under the Chinese neocolonialism. One might find the later volume dry and even disappointing because "Return To Tibet" is not really a showcase of colorful Tibetan costumes, or the rancid butter tea, or the architecture of monasteries. Instead, it is more a political review of how China had annihilated the Tibetan cultures by forcing adoption of new beliefs and ideologies. The climax of the book falls into the author's report to the Dalai Lama, with whom Harrer had built a close friendship. It is through Dalai Lama, spiritual leader of Tibet, that the author realized that Tibetans' beliefs are unshakable. "Tibetans are people of love and patience. They never value war. Yet they value religion and belief more than anything. They would value religion more than not going to war."