The Capital of the Dalai Lama
This is the story of the rise of Lhasa, before 1642 a small town, renowned for its Jokhang temple and its three large 15th century Gelukpa monasteries. The political victory of the Gelukpa changed its destiny and it was the Fifth Dalai Lama who made Lhasa into the centre of the Tibetan world, with an influence reaching into Mongolia and Ladakh. It became a true capital, with prestigious monuments, and the Potala Palace as its focus and symbol.

Based on Tibetan and Western sources, the book provides a fascinating study of the history of Lhasa against the background of the triangular relations Tibetans-Mongols-Manchus. With ample attention for 17th century Lhasa's historical, political and cultural context, it offers new insights on Lhasa, also, in the last chapter, in its contemporary Chinese framework. Readership: All those interested in Asian studies and the history and culture of Tibet as well as Tibetologists and art historians.

Lhasa in the Seventeenth Century, Francoise Pommaret (ed), Brill, Hardcover,
245 pp, $125.00

Fran�oise Pommaret, Ph.D. (1987) is an ethno-historian at the CNRS, Paris. She has travelled extensively in Tibet and lived for many years in Bhutan. Among other works, she has published, Les Revenants de l�au-del dans le monde tib�tain (CNRS, 1998) and Bhutan: mountain fortress of the gods (Serindia, 1997, with C. Schicklgruber).