First Russia, Then Tibet: Travels Through a Changing World - Paperback

by Robert Byron (Author)

Over the course of several months during 1931 and 1932, Robert Byron journeyed to three countries teetering on the brink of change. In Russia, which was stricken by famine, Lenin had just died, Stalin's dictatorship was in its infancy and the Great Terror had yet to begin. Having taken the first commercial flight to India, which took an astounding seven days, Byron was thrown into the tumultuous last years of the British Raj. Gandhi was imprisoned, while rioting and clashes between Hindus and Muslims had become commonplace. Finally Byron entered Tibet, the forbidden country. Exploring "The Land of Snows", he saw Tibet as it was when the then Dalai Lama was still ensconced in the Potala Palace, twenty years before China's invasion. First Russia, Then Tibet is an invaluable first-hand account of transformative moments in periods of change and upheaval.

Author Biography

Robert Byron (1905 - 1941) was one of the twentieth century's greatest travel writers as well as a noted art critic and historian. He is the author of the acclaimed The Road to Oxiana, considered by many to be the first example of great travel writing. He is also the author of Europe in the Looking Glass and The Byzantine Achievement.