"In the past, for largely geographical reasons, Tibet was isolated from the rest of the world, which meant that our country, people and culture were not only shrouded in mystery, but often gravely misunderstood. More recently, as interest has grown, scholarship concerning Tibet has improved beyond expectation, although it has often singled out narrow topics for consideration. In producing this substantial book, which takes a broad view of Tibetans and their civilization, within a long historical perspective, Matthew Kapstein has brought to his work the authority and clarity he has acquired through many years of friendship with and observation of the people of the Land of Snow."
—His Holiness The Dalai Lama
Interest in Tibet has developed very rapidly during the past several decades, and numerous texts, artifacts, and records of life in Tibetan communities are now readily available to researchers. The Tibetans provides a comprehensive introduction to this intriguing land, orienting the reader to the Tibetan geographical region and its inhabitants. Topics treated here include Tibetan religious and political history, together with major aspects of Tibetan culture: social institutions, religious and philosophical traditions, literature and the arts. A concluding chapter discusses the fragile position of Tibetan civilization in the modern world, surveying events that have transpired since Tibet’s incorporation into the People’s Republic of China.