Mustang: A Lost Tibetan Kingdom

by Michel Peissel

Excellent Book

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, History, French Literature, Adventure, France

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1967

About the author

Michel Georges Francois Peissel was a French ethnologist, explorer and author. He wrote twenty books mostly on his Himalayan and Tibetan expeditions. Peissel was an emeritus member of the Explorers Club and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.
Raised in England, Peissel later studied a year at Oxford University and the Harvard Business School and obtained a doctorate in Tibetan Ethnology from the Sorbonne, Paris.

Michel Peissel in the English Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_...

Michel Peissel in the French Wikipedia: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_...

Reviews

[Michal Thoma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very readable and interesting book, though has not to be taken literaly. Peissel introduces himself as ethnographer while he is merely adventurer. He makes bold statements about Mustangs history which later turned untrue. Anyhow he made a trip and spent very long time in the area of Mustang so his account is unique and as said before, very nicely put.

[Lesley Arrowsmith · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful account, by one of the first Westerners to visit Lo Mustang in the early 1960s.

[Miguel Mgm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesante pero no increíble, casi es mejor el viaje que la llegada al Mustang, imagino que la versión original en francés ganará mucho.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extraordinary and unique book. There will never be another adventure like it.

[Gabriel Benitez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dentro de la república de Nepal, en pleno Himalaya, se encuentra una de las zonas mas secas y agrestes de nuestro mundo. Situado en medio de tres fronteras (China, Tíbet y el mismo Nepal) se encuentra el reino escondido de Mustang, prohibido durante casi toda su existencia a extranjeros occidentales. Son contados con los dedos de una mano los que lograron conocer algo de este oculto reino, hasta que el viajero y escritor Michel Peissel logró una autorización real para entrar y estudiar este lugar en la década de los cincuentas.
En medio de una situación política muy peligrosa —la invasión china al Tíbet— Peissel entra en el reino de Mustang con la amenaza constante de los Kampas —antes forajidos y asaltantes y ahora la primera fuerza de defensa del Tíbet y el Dalai Lama— y de una región brutalmente desértica que poco a poco comenzará a mostrar sus misterios y maravillas a la vista del viajero y antropólogo que se dedicará a conocer a sus gentes, sus pueblos —como la capital, Lo Mantang— sus santuarios y sus lamas, en lo que es ya todo un clásico de la literatura de viajes.
El lector se encontrará sorprendido ante este mundo, alejado de la tecnología (más no primitivo) inserto en la sobrevivencia, pero también en la felicidad, el misticismo y el arte.
Muy buen libro.

[Samuel Parkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a travelogue with a bit of ethnography thrown in, and describes life in what was at the time a remarkably untouched, un-modernised area of the world.

It's not brilliant writing, and it's certainly not top-quality ethnology; much of the author's speculations later proved to be false. All the same it is a vivid picture of life in one of the most extreme climates on earth, and of a society remarkably uninfluenced by the west. There are the walled cities, the feudal society with its king and nobles, the society with its polyandric marriages, and the ever-present Lamas and Buddhist monasteries.

Peissel manages to be deeply evocative at times, and the portrayal of life high in the Himalayas is one I've never been able to get out of my head since I first read it a couple of decades ago.

[Alex Berryman · Rating 4 out of 5]

While not many would call this as a fun read - I certainly would! Lower Mustang is one of my favorite places in Nepal and Michel Peissel describes Upper Mustang with such force, its almost worth the $500 permit fee to go! His description of the culture, history and religion was done with care and much insight, and his forays into cross-cultural relations made me feel better about the blunders I have had in my own life as an expat.

If you are going to Mustang or the Annapurna region, its a must-read. If youre not - read it anyway and discover the intricate beauty of a barren land.

[Troy Wilkinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

An engaging account of the a foreigner venturing into a far-off land to uncover the secrets of the remaining vestiges from China's horrible invasion and occupation of Tibet. The book's beginnings paint a picture of a young and ambitious traveler who is soon met with a culture that spins his next months of adventure into a dream. A beautiful book about one culture in the Himalayas, another echo of the sadness of China's persistent colonizing, and a man's attempt at reaching his dream. -- The latter half of the book drags a bit though, but the ending and his many friendships are sweet.

[Allen Cheong]

An interesting book, with information and entertaining way of presenting. However, since the book was written more than 50 years, lots of facts have changed. For instant, Pokhara is not like what was described in the book, now it is a modern town with latest style building and vehicles...

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

A travelogue, but well written and entertaining. I read as I trekked thru the area, so I guess that added to my enjoyment. A better and more interesting book than Snow Leopard, which is what most people read when the come to Nepal for trekking.

[Robin Logan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this up when I was trekking in Lo Mustang, Nepal. Good insight into the Tibetan culture.

[Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terrific

[Nicole]

Wonderful trip that I'll never be able to do. Will reread it soon.

[Владислав Димитров · Rating 4 out of 5]

Пътешествия и още как!