"On a quiet winter morning in 1937, several men on horseback rode into the tiny Tibetan village of Taktser. Disguised as peasants, the high lamas were on a secret mission--soon they would identify two-and-a-half-year-old Lhamo Thondup as the 14th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. From his simple life in a mountain village to the thousand-room Potala Palace and his perilous escape into exile, this dramatic narrative follows the remakable childhood...

"The first definitive biography of the Dalai Lama--a story by turns inspiring and shocking--from an acclaimed Tibetan scholar with exceptional access to his subject"--

""What makes you purr? Of all the questions in the world, this is the most important. Because no matter whether you are a playful kitten or sedentary senior, whether you're a scrawny alley Tom, or sleek-coated uptown girl, whatever your circumstances you just want to be happy. Not the kind of happy that comes and goes like a can of flaked tuna, but an enduring happiness. The deep down happiness that makes you purr from the heart." His Holiness's cat...

A discussion of how the Dalai Lama draws on his personal compassion to connect with others shares insight into his human frustrations and joyful approach to the world, and describes his peace-promoting encounters with people ranging from a sick child to world leaders.

""If you ever doubted that your feline companion has her own inner life, just watch what happens when she falls asleep, and loses conscious control of her physical being. a twitching of limbs, a quivering of the jaw, sometimes, perhaps, a snuffling noise or a meow. Cats may indeed be capable of great mindfulness, but we are thinking beings too. In my own case, unfortunately, a being who thinks rather too much." In the latest installment of the Dalai...

"Get to know the Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader and one of the most popular world leaders today. Two-year-old Lhamo Thondup never imagined he would be anything other than an ordinary child, but after undergoing a series of tests, he was proclaimed the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet. By age 15, he found himself the undisputed leader of six million people who were facing the threat of a full-scale war from the Chinese. After the defeat of the Tibetan...