Book Review - Seven Years in Tibet by Heinrich Harrer

 Seven Years in Tibet by Heinrich Harrer, translated from the German by Richard Graves, with an introduction by Peter Fleming

London: Pan Books, 1956 (First published 1953)

Having seen the Brad Pitt movie of this book, and only half-believing that it could be true, I approached this book with much interest. Yes, a lot of the movie was made-up, but not the parts that I thought! Seven Years in Tibet is an amazing tale of struggle and hardship, adaptability, stoicism and ultimately friendship and growth.

Heinrich Harrer was a well-known Austrian mountaineer, famous for his ascent of the North Face of the Eiger, when in 1939 he joined an expedition to climb Nanga Parbat headed by Peter Aufschnaiter. Unfortunately for this group of Germans, war was declared and they were promptly placed into an internment camp by the British in India. Harrer was determined to escape, and escape to Tibet, a neutral country from where he was going to attempt to get to the Japanese lines and then back to Germany. He made several attempts to escape before he succeeded with a group of others. Eventually, only Aufschnaiter and Harrer actually made it across the border into Tibet. Tibet at that time was not only closed to foreigners, but also was a medieval-style feudal society. Harrer and Aufschnaiter, by a series of tricks, stratagems, and begging, managed to gain a foothold in Tibet, and over the course of a year managed to make it to Lhasa. That year involved a series of almost unbelievable treks through the most desolate of country, exposing them to the best and worst of the Tibetan people: the invariably friendly and helpful nomads, the brutish bandits, and the (sometimes) imperious officials, who found these European interlopers both fascinating, and a problem.

Eventually they made it to Lhasa, and were given respite by one of the nobles there. They soon carved out a niche for themselves: Tibet at that time was almost wholly lacking in any form of modern appliances or technology, and Harrer and especially Aufschnaiter (who had an engineering background) set to in assisting the government with flood-mitigation works, sewerage, and other improvements to the town. They moved from being curiosities to being part of the upper-class social set.

None of this had gone un-noticed by the young Dalai Lama, and eventually Harrer was introduced to him, and became his tutor and guide in all things Western. Harrer describes a young man who was very bright, very curious, and very knowledgeable in Buddhist scripture and tradition. Harrer came to admire him very much, as he did the Tibetan way of life, despite its superstition and seeming backwardness.

Unfortunately his time in Tibet came to an untimely end, with the Chinese invasion of 1950. He knew he couldn't stay, but was heartbroken to have to go.

Seven Years in Tibet is not only a wonderful description of a personal journey, but an informative guide to what Tibet was like in its last few years as an independent country on the roof of the world. A wonderful way to while away some winter hours in front of a fire.

Cheers for now, from

A View Over the Bell