A Conquest of Tibet

by Sven Hedin

English, Swedish (translation)

Genres: Travel

400 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1940

About the author

Sven Hedin was a Swedish geographer, topographer, explorer, photographer, travel writer, and illustrator of his own works. During four expeditions to Central Asia, he discovered the Transhimalaya (once named the Hedin Range in his honor) and the sources of the Brahmaputra, Indus and Sutlej Rivers, Lake Lop Nur, and the remains of cities, grave sites and the Great Wall of China in the deserts of the Tarim Basin. In his book Från Pol till Pol, Hedin describes a journey through Asia and Europe between the late 1880s and early 1900s. While traveling, Hedin visited Constantinople (Istanbul), oil-rich Azerbaijan in times of the Nobel Brothers, Teheran, Mesopotamia (Iraq), lands of the Kyrgyz people, India, China, Asiatic Russia and Japan.

Reviews

[Daren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another review suggests this book is written for young adults, which would explain the simplicity of the writing style, although this could also have to do with the translation from Swedish. The writing is very straight forward, although the content is excellent.

It tells of Sven Hedin's various travels through Tibet, at at time when outsiders were far from welcome. Hedin managed not only to evade capture by the Tibetans, but to befriend a number who agreed to serve his expedition and even disguise him in an attempt to aid his various goals. One in particular remained unachievable, which was the visiting of Lhasa, which is a shame, as his efforts to criss-cross Tibet were quite extraordinary.

Making up for the simple text are many excellent ink sketches by Hedin, most are around a third of a page but there are some full page sketches too, and the quality of these is great. Landscapes, cityscapes and animals all feature, but his portraits are some of his best work. For me these really make the book, and lift it in my star rating. The lack of a map however is painful, as I found it pretty hard to understand his route, and would have been a valuable addition.

Intent and achievements: 4 stars; writing 2 stars; maps, 0 stars; sketches 5 stars. This leave me sitting at low four stars.

[Claire Binkley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am bringing this back today since I am no longer letting myself escape into the fantasy of the magical land of Tibet. I think that is what it is, a well-documented fantasy, with hand-drawn photographic evidence.

I did enjoy what might not be magic but an actual travelogue!