A Conquest of Tibet

Another review suggests this book is written for young adults, which would explain the simplicity of the writing style, although this could also have to do with the translation from Swedish. The writing is very straight forward, although the content is excellent.

It tells of Sven Hedin's various travels through Tibet, at at time when outsiders were far from welcome. Hedin managed not only to evade capture by the Tibetans, but to befriend a number who agreed to serve his expedition and even disguise him in an attempt to aid his various goals. One in particular remained unachievable, which was the visiting of Lhasa, which is a shame, as his efforts to criss-cross Tibet were quite extraordinary.

Making up for the simple text are many excellent ink sketches by Hedin, most are around a third of a page but there are some full page sketches too, and the quality of these is great. Landscapes, cityscapes and animals all feature, but his portraits are some of his best work. For me these really make the book, and lift it in my star rating. The lack of a map however is painful, as I found it pretty hard to understand his route, and would have been a valuable addition.

Intent and achievements: 4 stars; writing 2 stars; maps, 0 stars; sketches 5 stars. This leave me sitting at low four stars.