This exciting and often intense biography describes the Dalai Lama�s rigorous education and his full assumption of power at the age of fifteen following the Chinese invasion in 1950. Though Tibetan tradition holds that the Dalai Lama is a reincarnation of his predecessors, one still marvels at the level of responsibility, maturity, and wisdom he possessed at a very young age. Through Claude B. Levenson's account of his youth, illuminated by photographs and many recollections of the Dalai Lama in his own words, we begin to understand how a lama from Tibet has become the worldwide spiritual leader who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.

Tenzin Gyatso: The Early Life of the Dalai Lama, Claude B. Levenson, North Atlantic Books, Paperback, 2002, 155 Pages, $14.95

Formerly a resident of Paris, Claude B. Levenson now lives in Switzerland. She was a scholar of Slavic and Eastern languages, including Sanskrit, before becoming a freelance journalist, and translator. She is the author of a number of other books about Tibet.