One of my favourite authors writing about a human being who has intrigued me from the time I read Siddhartha. It didn't disappoint at all!What is it like to live, practice, preach a faith while facing oppression from one of the most powerful countries in the world? Even as Tibet becomes more of a Chinese province day by day - the Potala Palace is treated as just another tourist attraction and the streets of Lhasa are filled with entertainment and shopping options - and several Tibetans question

The Open RoadPico Iyer's new book subtitled "The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama" takes its title and theme from an essay by D. H. Lawrence about Walt Whitman and his poem, "The Song of the Open Road". Lawrence wrote "The great home of the Soul is the open road. Not heaven, not paradise, not `above'" The human person (or "soul" for Lawrence) "is a wayfarer down the open road" and democracy flowers "where soul meets soul in the open road." (Iyer, pp. 13-14)Whitman's poetry, with its j...

Pico Iyer knows the Dalai Lama personally and has traveled with him over the years. I learned so much about Buddhism, Buddhist monks, and the Dalai Lama. I took my time reading this book: it is a meditation in itself and inspired me to increase the seriousness of my own practice.

I really enjoy this book. It's written by someone in observance of the Dalai Lama, but his insight is there. I need to make more time to meditate and finish this book.

The Open Road bills itself as a look at the paradoxical life of the Dalai Lama written by someone who has known him for three decades. While the book does examine the Dalai Lama as a spiritual and temporal leader, a man with one foot planted firmly in the ancient past of his Buddhist tradition and one foot planted firmly in the modern world, it is surprisingly superficial and spotty. The premise of the book is far better than its execution. For instance, Iyer quotes a Tibetan as saying that Tibe...

Not an over-stimulating read, but I gained some insight into Tibetan heiarchy. I was really hoping for a candid insiders view, instead I was left wanting. Additionally, the writing style and strength didn't seem to fit the subject matter.

Iyer is a travel writer who has a personal relationship with the Dalai Lama dating back to his youth. In this book Ayer provides an insider's view of the Dalai Lama's life and mind. I didn't know much about the man before reading the book, and so I was surprised by a lot of what I read. Iyer points out that the Dalai Lama on the surface seems to be full of contradictions (for example, he values science and logic but he also believes in prophecy and spiritual manifestations). Iyer helps the reade...

This was a thoroughly enjoyable book. Of course, this is coming from someone who spent a year in Dharamsala and charted out a map of McLeod Ganj in the margins when I realized that he was going to tell us where each of the main roads go to.I felt as if Iyer's observations, while trivial, improved the readability of the work and possibly served as a way to draw the ordinary reader into the environment that is Dharamsala. (As someone who's been there, I felt that most of his observations were pret...

I don't know where to start! I mentioned several times to Mr. Dragon that I never write in books ... just one of my *laws*, but I sure wanted to write in this one. Finally, after hearing me say this daily, Mr. D looked at me and said "write in the book"!!! So I did. There is just so much in it that I want to remember and look at again. Pico Iyer in this book "tried to be a general reader speaking to other general readers, and bringing little more than the curiosity and interest of a journalist w...

This is the first book I've read on the Dalai Lama, and my first written by Pico Lyer. Reading other reviews, I can understand some of the criticism. Some aren't fans of Lyer's journalistic writing style, others who have read much about Tibetan Buddhism were disappointed this didn't reveal anything new or deeper, or that Lyer failed to dig deep enough into the tension between the Dalai Lama's spiritual and temporal reality. For me though, this book proved a fascinating read. While Lyer had uniqu...

I had high expectations of this book and was disappointed. The book devotes considerable space to the situation in Tibet and how China has consolidated it's hold. It also has a few personal episodes describing Pico Iyer's conversations with the Dalai Lama. However, these are few and mostly cover matter known in the public domain. There is little information on Tibetan Buddhism itself and not enough of the Dalai Lama's personal life and thoughts. This book simply skims the surface on what could h...

What do you write in a book about one of the most famous people in the world about whom already exists a ton of literature? This challenge was taken very well by Iyer (who is now one of my favorite authors, his command on the language to express the most complicated in the most beautiful and simplest of words is something to be experienced and re-read), who gave a remarkably personal account of his times with HHH, the Dalai Lama over a few years. He also did a wonderful job by covering the multi...

This has been a slow read for me - I kept going off and reading other things, then coming back to it. Not because it was difficult, but just so dense with ideas. It is a sort of biography by Pico Iyer of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama and attempts to explain his delicate position as leader of a country that virtually no longers exists, having been systematically destroyed by the Chinese since he escaped it at the age of 14. It explores his philosophies, his attempts to bring his people into a modern

A must read. Clever, insightful, objective. Pico Iyer writes beautifully,but this book is so much more than good writing : it will take you on un unexpected journey, deep into the contradictions and the obstacles that The Fourteenth Dalai Lama has to navigate in order to bridge tradition with the future, secularism with mysticism.

didn't love it, but i liked some parts of it. maybe because i read it 5 pages at a time right before bed.

In his study of the Dalai Lama, Iyer offers a rich historical context made stronger by his own diligent research and vast knowledge of global politics (not to mention a personal connection). Given the current unrest between Tibet and China, Iyer's book takes on additional weight by lending urgency to the story of an otherwise little understood

Very interesting. One of the factors that made Tibet so vulnerable to being taken over by China was its chosen isolation from the rest of the world. This book relates how the Dalai Lama, understanding that, has chosen to take Tibetan Buddhism to the world. It also relates his practice of Buddhism and non-violence against China has caused turmoil within the Tibetan exile community. Plus, imagine the difficulty when so many Tibetans believe he is God. Also, there is a mystical part of Tibetan Budd...

This was absolutely lovely -- nuanced and detailed and sharp. Iyer makes a compelling case that there are several "faces" or aspects to the Dalai Lama -- the public face, where His Holiness talks about a secular ethics of kindness that anyone can follow, while encouraging people to delve into their own religious traditions rather than necessarily "converting" to Buddhism. Iyer also writes compellingly - -but not in an "oh, wow, isn't this exotic" way -- about the more private face of the Dalai L...

The selection for my book group, I was delighted to learn more about the Dalai Lama. Pico Iyer has known the Dalai Lama for more than 30 years, having been introduced through his father, an Oxford don who was born in India. Iyer, an essay, novelist, and travel writer, has spent considerable time in Dharamsala,India, home to the Dalai Lama has his government in exile and to many Tibetan exiles. Further he has attended many of the Dalai Lama's visits around the world. Although biographical details...

Unsuccessful attempt to be both memoir and biography, with some hero-worship thrown in. It's not a complete waste of time, but the writing is often self-indulgent and self-congratulatory. (I loved the moment that went something like: "I heard the Dalai Lama won the Nobel Prize so I dropped in to personally congratulate him. I figured he wouldn't mind.")The book was predictably biased, and also shirked challenging questions like, "The Tibetans think you're a god. So, are you?" The writer (like th...