A MARTIAL ARTIST IN TIBET
by Pamela Logan
In the tradition of Peter Matthiessen's The Snow Leopard, a rare look at a journey to eastern Tibet in search of its legendary warriors.
Scientistturned adventurer Pamela Logan travels to the wilds of eastern Tibet in search of knowledge and inspiration for her karate practice. Her goal is Kham, whose people are famed for their ferocity, banditry, and ruthlessness. Overcoming mountains, snowstorms, sickness, and interfering police, she traces routes used by famous Himalayan travelers Alexandra DavidNeel and Peter Matthiessenand blazes some new trails of her own.
Biking and hitchhiking, traveling on horseback and on foot, she explores a rugged, spectacular region that since the Chinese occupation of Tibet has been closed to outsiders. Along the way she meets scores of memorable characters: Muslim farmers and Tibetan monks, Western pilgrims and Chinese police. Her journey brings her face to face with Tibet's incredible prostrating pilgrims; from this and other experiences she slowly pieces together a spiritual connection between her martial arts training and
Tibetan Buddhism. As she explores the heart of Kham, she discovers a kind of courage that gives new meaning to the word "warrior"and is an unexpected source of inspiration for her martial arts.
This remarkable book of a woman's quest for warriorhood will fascinate anyone who is interested in pushing their physical and spiritual limits: travelers, athletes, philosophers, Buddhists, and pilgrims of all stripes.
Published in 1996 by The Overlook Press and distributed by Penguin, USA.
ISBN: 0-87951-643-7
Pages: 288
16 full-color photographs
To order send $23.95 plus $3.50 shipping to THE OVERLOOK PRESS, 2568 Route 212, Woodstock, NY 12498 USA, or call 914 679-6838.