Lhasa: An Account of the Country and People of Central Tibet and of the Progress of the Mission sent there by the English Government in 1903-4; 2 Volumes
This remarkable and profusely-illustrated work gives a unique portrait of the people and culture of Tibet as they were in 1903-04 at the end of a period where Tibet had been secluded from foreigners and foreign influences for some centuries. Tibet had just been opened to the outside world by a British military expedition led by the last great proponent of the 'Great Game' between Britain and Russia, Col. Francis Younghusband. This work, written by the correspondent for the London Times newspaper, is the official record of the military campaign. But more than that, it also gives a view of Tibet as it was just after the "first contact" -- the land, people, art, religion, government, history and way of life of this isolated land.
