So Close to Heaven: The Vanishing Buddhist Kingdoms of the Himalayas

By Barbara Crossette

Book Overview

A travelogue of Bhutan and its neighbors in the Himalayas that introduces readers to a world that has emerged from the middle ages only to find itself peering into the abyss of modernity. "For anyone with a serious interest in Buddhism, it's essential reading" ( Washington Post Book World). For more than a thousand years Tibet, Sikkim, Ladakh, and Bhutan were the santuaries of Tantric Buddhism. But in the last half of this century, geopolitics has scoured the landscape of the Himalayas, and only the reclusive kingdom of Bhutan remains true to Tantric Buddhism.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0679743634
• ISBN13: 9780679743637
• Release Date: June 1996
• Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.74 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

A highly readable introduction to Bhutan

The title indicates the book is about Himalayan Buddhism. While small portions are devoted to the Buddhists of Kashmir, Nepal, and Sikkim, the majority of the book is about Bhutan, because it's the last remaining Buddhist monarchy of the Himalayan region. This is not a travel narrative; instead, the material is arranged by topic. It's comprehensive and pleasant to read. It's shortcoming is the author's unabashed bias in favor of the Bhutanese monarchy, despite its dubious record of human rights toward the Hindu minority. Crossette admits she received favored treatment from the king, and it shows. Likewise, she sides with the (now deposed) monarchy of Sikkim. The bias is so transparently obvious, I didn't feel I had been conned, but one expects greater balance from a correspondent of The New York Times.

a clear and thoughtful look at the Himalayan kingdoms

So Close to Heaven is a clear and thoughtful look at Bhutan and other (now vanished) Himalayan kingdoms. Crossette is an excellent traveling companion, blending research, analysis and personal observation in a very readable and informative text.