No rags to riches story is more remarkable than the tale of how a young Tibetan farmer's son was plucked from obscurity to become the Dalai Lama. This compelling account is the first to portray in detail how his extraordinary destiny affected his parents, four brothers and two sisters. Two-year-old Lhamo Dhondup's life and that of his family changed dramatically as they adjusted to the fact that he was now His Holiness, or Kundun - meaning the Presence - a reincarnation of thirteen previous Dalai Lamas, and the most autonomous spiritual and political ruler of any nation in the world. In later years the family were to lose everything, when China invaded Tibet in 1951, forcing them to flee as exiles to India.
This is the tale of a people wrenched from their land by force, their stubborn fight for survival and their integral role in their country's turbulent history. Mary Craig's vivid and intimate storytelling provides great insight into an epic and heart-rending episode of the twentieth century.
