The Search for the Panchen Lama

In May 1995, a seven-year-old Tibetan boy and his family were taken from their home by Chinese security forces. They have not been seen since. The boy's devotees believe him to be the eleventh incarnation of the Panchen Lama, the second most important incarnation in the Tibetan Buddhist hierarchy. Isabel Hilton tells the gripping inside story of how this child became the pawn in a battle between the Chinese regime and Tibet's exiled religious leader, the Dalai Lama. In revealing the political intrigue that accompanied the race to choose and enthrone the eleventh Panchen Lama, Hilton "clarifies a great deal about the nature of Tibetan culture and history and the complexities of Tibet's relationship with China" (New York Times). "Lively and vastly entertaining.... Hilton has seen-and participated in-one of the final moments of a lost Tibet."-Boston Sunday Globe "Riveting ....captures the panoramic scope of a remarkable story.... The ending is heartbreaking."-Los Angeles Times "[A]n outstanding book, well-researched, lively, scholarly, humorous, sympathetic, and eminently readable."-The Tablet "[A]n important book, a work of impeccable scholarship, erudition and great personal courage."-Literary Review "[A] crash course in Tibetan history and affairs in addition to a rattling good story."-The Spectator "Hilton's excellent new book is a cool and intelligent explanation of the political intricacies surrounding the Panchen Lama."-The Observer