Seven Years in Tibet ~ Heinrich Harrer (71 of 2024)

Heinrich Harrer was an army man, mountaineer, explorer, writer, sportsman, and geographer. In 1939, he and his climbing team had been on an expedition to the Indian Himalayas, where they were arrested by British forces because of the outbreak of World War II. 

He eventually escaped to Tibet in 1948, became a salaried employee of the Tibetan government and stayed there until 1951. He ended up becoming the Dalai Lama's English teacher and escaped from Tibet soon after the Dalai Lama fled from there and came to India.

In 1952, he had returned to Austria where he documented his experiences in two books, Seven Years in Tibet (1952) and Lost Lhasa (1953). Seven Years in Tibet was translated into 53 languages, and became a bestseller in the United States in 1954, selling three million copies. The book was the basis of two films of the same title, the first in 1956 and the second in 1997, starring Brad Pitt in the title role.