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Beyond Seven Years in Tibet: My Life Before, During and After
Heinrich Harrer, traveller, explorer and mountaineer led one of the most extraordinary lives of the twentieth century. He famously spent Seven Years in Tibet (made into the film starring Brad Pitt) and was tutor, mentor and a lifelong friend of the Dalai Lama. He made the first ascent of the notorious North Face of the Eiger (told in his book "The White Spider") and summited unclimbed peaks in Alaska, the Himalaya and South America. In this dramatic autobiography, he brings to life all of his adventures, from the early days of climbing in the Alps, through his time in Tibet, to his later expeditions including exploring the Congo with the King of Belgium and travels to remote parts of Asia, South America and Africa.
512 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 2002
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About the author
Heinrich Harrer
57 books163 followersHeinrich Harrer was an Austrian mountaineer, sportsman, geographer, and author. He is best known for being on the four-man climbing team that made the first ascent of the North Face of the Eiger in Switzerland, and for his books Seven Years in Tibet (1952) and The White Spider (1959).
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September 9, 2017short review
man arses about in obscure places having picturesque but never picaresque adventures.
expanded review
I might hope on the whole that if I write a short review it stands as a tongue in cheek and generally light-hearted comment of the book and any longer review, in this case there isn't I feel that much more to say beyond that précis which I intend as serious and complimentary comment on the book.
There is a rather frightening section in the middle of the book when Harrer discovers golf, but he just about holds back from recording where and with whom he ever played golf, but he comes close to it.
If this book offers a fair summary of his other books then I would conclude that they are also inconsequential and entertaining enlivened by deadpan humour. Harrer struggles to rise beyond the inconsequential because he is uncritically impressed by virtually everyone he meets and sees. London publishers amaze him, King Leopold III of the Belgians or King Gustav of Sweden impress him effortlessly and deeply. Eventually he comes to see the idea of mountaineering as conquering a peak as a particularly stupid vanity, but one is given no insight in to how he came to that conclusion, one suspects the simple declining limits of physical capacity with ageing led to the change of heart. In old age he is hit by controversy as researchers uncover his Nazi past, as with Gunter Grass this had been no great secret, simply neither man made a point of being continually public about it Harrer had in fact also been a member of the SS. I think reading between the lines that Nazism was hardly the issue, Harrer in his youth would have made a deal with the Devil for some adventure , which perhaps leads me to an alternative short review:
alternative short review
Man leverages opportunities to fund life of minor adventurousness, few people die in the process.
expanded review continued
At one point when he is maybe in his 50s and in the Congo he marks in passing the first occasion that he is ever menaced by an angry drunk man, which indicates despite how widely travelled he was, that his life was also curiously sheltered.
He says of his time in Tibet after WWII to whence he had escaped from internment by the British in India that he regarded himself as a father figure to the Dalai Lama, one notes that the Dalai Lama's real father was very much still alive at the time and suspects that the feeling probably wasn't mutual. I imagine the desire for fatherhood on Harrer's part lay behind the rapid strength of his feelings.
My problem with this book is that it is all surface sparkle, yes he does amusing things, yes he goes to curious places and meets headhunters, shaman, princesses and the odd king or two, but there is nothing to show for it, no insight, no meaning, just a kind of flatness, an absence, in which a different person might have been tempted to reflection or philosophise. He measures the retreat of glaciers, realises the results will be shocking (p268), and then full stop he's a dilettante, so his visits to far off places and interesting peoples never amount to much more than tourism - high class tourism - but tourism all the same, one senses that he could have become a significant ethnographer or anthropologist or sociologist, but what he wanted was to be an adventurer and this he achieved, but the result from a literary point of view is well, insubstantial, he's not got much to say. He was moderately ethical, I suppose though he does like to impress the stone age peoples of Papua New Guinea with "displays of force", even if he won't pull the trigger of the shotgun himself.
The odd thing was, I felt that his interwar Carinthian childhood was rather like some of the developing societies, even maybe 1940s Tibet, that he enjoyed visiting, cash poor, religious, people having to walk considerable distances to access basic services, dependant on the work of the ancestors in building houses and wells, if that was part of the appeal in his adventuring then it was subconscious.
So a furniture polish book I felt, enjoyable sparkle, the fatty indulgence of a dollop of whipped cream. As it happened this was just about perfect after I not not Stiller in which by contrast everything seems deep interwoven and connected, the slightest detail meaningful. He was I felt quite interesting about equipment only one of the four men making the attempt on the Eiger had crampons, what 'saved' them was their relative experience and skill - when they get down the first doctor they reach refuses to treat Harrer's injuries because they were, in the Doctor's view, self inflicted, how attitudes have changed. Later having severely injured himself by leaping on a pile of rubble and then falling into a river and then colliding with various rocks, he thinks that if only he'd been wearing his old hob nailed boots he'd have been fine.
Moving on from this to Goodbye to all that the contrast is striking, Graves memoir has from early on a clear sense of purpose and argument which Harrer's never has, but then the two lives are very different, Graves was rejecting a substantial chunk of his culture, Harrer rambles cheerfully through life adding to his, I'd guess Harrer had the happier of the two lives though he's not a reflective or analytical enough person to present his own philosophy of a good life, just his recipe for a long life - don't smoke and exercise daily.
man arses about in obscure places having picturesque but never picaresque adventures.
expanded review
I might hope on the whole that if I write a short review it stands as a tongue in cheek and generally light-hearted comment of the book and any longer review, in this case there isn't I feel that much more to say beyond that précis which I intend as serious and complimentary comment on the book.
There is a rather frightening section in the middle of the book when Harrer discovers golf, but he just about holds back from recording where and with whom he ever played golf, but he comes close to it.
If this book offers a fair summary of his other books then I would conclude that they are also inconsequential and entertaining enlivened by deadpan humour. Harrer struggles to rise beyond the inconsequential because he is uncritically impressed by virtually everyone he meets and sees. London publishers amaze him, King Leopold III of the Belgians or King Gustav of Sweden impress him effortlessly and deeply. Eventually he comes to see the idea of mountaineering as conquering a peak as a particularly stupid vanity, but one is given no insight in to how he came to that conclusion, one suspects the simple declining limits of physical capacity with ageing led to the change of heart. In old age he is hit by controversy as researchers uncover his Nazi past, as with Gunter Grass this had been no great secret, simply neither man made a point of being continually public about it Harrer had in fact also been a member of the SS. I think reading between the lines that Nazism was hardly the issue, Harrer in his youth would have made a deal with the Devil for some adventure , which perhaps leads me to an alternative short review:
alternative short review
Man leverages opportunities to fund life of minor adventurousness, few people die in the process.
expanded review continued
At one point when he is maybe in his 50s and in the Congo he marks in passing the first occasion that he is ever menaced by an angry drunk man, which indicates despite how widely travelled he was, that his life was also curiously sheltered.
He says of his time in Tibet after WWII to whence he had escaped from internment by the British in India that he regarded himself as a father figure to the Dalai Lama, one notes that the Dalai Lama's real father was very much still alive at the time and suspects that the feeling probably wasn't mutual. I imagine the desire for fatherhood on Harrer's part lay behind the rapid strength of his feelings.
My problem with this book is that it is all surface sparkle, yes he does amusing things, yes he goes to curious places and meets headhunters, shaman, princesses and the odd king or two, but there is nothing to show for it, no insight, no meaning, just a kind of flatness, an absence, in which a different person might have been tempted to reflection or philosophise. He measures the retreat of glaciers, realises the results will be shocking (p268), and then full stop he's a dilettante, so his visits to far off places and interesting peoples never amount to much more than tourism - high class tourism - but tourism all the same, one senses that he could have become a significant ethnographer or anthropologist or sociologist, but what he wanted was to be an adventurer and this he achieved, but the result from a literary point of view is well, insubstantial, he's not got much to say. He was moderately ethical, I suppose though he does like to impress the stone age peoples of Papua New Guinea with "displays of force", even if he won't pull the trigger of the shotgun himself.
The odd thing was, I felt that his interwar Carinthian childhood was rather like some of the developing societies, even maybe 1940s Tibet, that he enjoyed visiting, cash poor, religious, people having to walk considerable distances to access basic services, dependant on the work of the ancestors in building houses and wells, if that was part of the appeal in his adventuring then it was subconscious.
So a furniture polish book I felt, enjoyable sparkle, the fatty indulgence of a dollop of whipped cream. As it happened this was just about perfect after I not not Stiller in which by contrast everything seems deep interwoven and connected, the slightest detail meaningful. He was I felt quite interesting about equipment only one of the four men making the attempt on the Eiger had crampons, what 'saved' them was their relative experience and skill - when they get down the first doctor they reach refuses to treat Harrer's injuries because they were, in the Doctor's view, self inflicted, how attitudes have changed. Later having severely injured himself by leaping on a pile of rubble and then falling into a river and then colliding with various rocks, he thinks that if only he'd been wearing his old hob nailed boots he'd have been fine.
Moving on from this to Goodbye to all that the contrast is striking, Graves memoir has from early on a clear sense of purpose and argument which Harrer's never has, but then the two lives are very different, Graves was rejecting a substantial chunk of his culture, Harrer rambles cheerfully through life adding to his, I'd guess Harrer had the happier of the two lives though he's not a reflective or analytical enough person to present his own philosophy of a good life, just his recipe for a long life - don't smoke and exercise daily.
March 6, 2012
Heinrich Harrer erzählt sein gesamtes Leben, das reich an spannenden Abenteuern und wichtigen Entdeckungen ist. So interessant der Inhalt der Biografie auch ist, trotzdem habe ich mich etwas durch die Seiten gequält. Ganz im Sinne des ewig sammelnden Forschers beschreibt Harrer viele Leute, Artefakte, Orte und dies gleichzeitig im selben Satz, sodass es teilweise wirklich mühsam ist, sich durch den Dschungel der Neuigkeiten, die im Stakkato präsentiert werden, zu wühlen. Auch kommt er oft beim Erzählen vom hundersten ins tausendste, ein Nebenstrang der Geschichte und die Hintergrundinformationen zu einer Person, die mit einer anderen Person irgendwas zu tun hat muss auch noch unbedingt in den Satz hineingestopft werden.
Was bei all diesen Informationen aber völlig fehlt, sind die Beschreibungen der Gefühle, die Harrer hatte, oder die Darstellung von zwischenmenschlichen Beziehungen. Das meiste wird so wissenschaftlich kalt und sachlich präsentiert, als wäre Harrer gar nicht anwesend gewesen. Diese Erkenntnis (etwa die genaue Beleuchtung Beziehung von Harrer zum Dalai Lama) hätte ich aber auf jeden Fall vom Buch erwartet und wurde dadurch enttäsucht.
Fazit spannendes Leben, der Geschichte fehlt jedoch Herz.
Was bei all diesen Informationen aber völlig fehlt, sind die Beschreibungen der Gefühle, die Harrer hatte, oder die Darstellung von zwischenmenschlichen Beziehungen. Das meiste wird so wissenschaftlich kalt und sachlich präsentiert, als wäre Harrer gar nicht anwesend gewesen. Diese Erkenntnis (etwa die genaue Beleuchtung Beziehung von Harrer zum Dalai Lama) hätte ich aber auf jeden Fall vom Buch erwartet und wurde dadurch enttäsucht.
Fazit spannendes Leben, der Geschichte fehlt jedoch Herz.
July 28, 2019
Interesting book on the incredible expeditions and live of Heinrich Harrer. The disadvantage of an autobiography though is at various instances a seemingly amount of self glorification when the author is talking about e.g the many famous people he met, invites a got for lectures meetings with editors. This make it difficult to get to the end of this book.
April 28, 2025
In Beyond Seven Years in Tibet, Heinrich Harrer expands the personal and political narrative that captivated readers in his earlier memoir. Where Seven Years in Tibet charted his extraordinary exile and immersion in Tibetan life during the 1940s, this sequel-as-reflection casts a wider net—recounting episodes from Harrer’s life both before and after his time in the Land of Snows, and attempting to contextualize his legacy in the twilight of the 20th century.
The book reads as both a memoir and a retrospective attempt at reconciliation. Harrer revisits his early years in Austria, his climbing achievements—including the legendary ascent of the North Face of the Eiger—and his controversial affiliation with the Nazi Party. To his credit, he does not evade the latter, acknowledging it early in the narrative. Yet the treatment is somewhat cursory, and readers seeking a deeply introspective reckoning with his past may find the discussion wanting. Still, there is a sense of honesty and perhaps a belated desire to account for his place in a rapidly changing world.
Much of the book’s strength lies in Harrer’s continued passion for travel, exploration, and cultural exchange. His post-Tibet adventures—across the globe and through various spheres of influence—are recounted with the same eye for detail and wonder that made his first book so engaging. From the Andes to the Amazon, Harrer remains a curious and respectful observer of other peoples and places. His prose is clean and direct, sometimes almost spare, but it allows the subject matter—whether exotic locales or deeply personal moments—to speak for itself.
One of the more compelling aspects of Beyond Seven Years in Tibet is its reflection on Harrer’s enduring relationship with the 14th Dalai Lama. The warmth and admiration between the two men is evident, and Harrer’s role as a bridge between Tibetan culture and the West remains one of the book’s most affecting through-lines. There’s a poignancy in seeing how the bond formed in Lhasa continued to shape Harrer’s values and world view well into his old age.
While the book lacks the focused dramatic arc of its predecessor, it compensates with breadth and a candid, occasionally contemplative tone. Harrer doesn’t always dwell deeply on the philosophical implications of his journeys, but there is a quiet sense of humility beneath the stories—a recognition that he has lived a rare life, touched by both history’s darkness and its moments of light.
Beyond Seven Years in Tibet may not possess the narrative tautness or mythic resonance of the original, but it succeeds as a wide-ranging personal account of a life lived at the intersections of adventure, culture, and conscience.
The book reads as both a memoir and a retrospective attempt at reconciliation. Harrer revisits his early years in Austria, his climbing achievements—including the legendary ascent of the North Face of the Eiger—and his controversial affiliation with the Nazi Party. To his credit, he does not evade the latter, acknowledging it early in the narrative. Yet the treatment is somewhat cursory, and readers seeking a deeply introspective reckoning with his past may find the discussion wanting. Still, there is a sense of honesty and perhaps a belated desire to account for his place in a rapidly changing world.
Much of the book’s strength lies in Harrer’s continued passion for travel, exploration, and cultural exchange. His post-Tibet adventures—across the globe and through various spheres of influence—are recounted with the same eye for detail and wonder that made his first book so engaging. From the Andes to the Amazon, Harrer remains a curious and respectful observer of other peoples and places. His prose is clean and direct, sometimes almost spare, but it allows the subject matter—whether exotic locales or deeply personal moments—to speak for itself.
One of the more compelling aspects of Beyond Seven Years in Tibet is its reflection on Harrer’s enduring relationship with the 14th Dalai Lama. The warmth and admiration between the two men is evident, and Harrer’s role as a bridge between Tibetan culture and the West remains one of the book’s most affecting through-lines. There’s a poignancy in seeing how the bond formed in Lhasa continued to shape Harrer’s values and world view well into his old age.
While the book lacks the focused dramatic arc of its predecessor, it compensates with breadth and a candid, occasionally contemplative tone. Harrer doesn’t always dwell deeply on the philosophical implications of his journeys, but there is a quiet sense of humility beneath the stories—a recognition that he has lived a rare life, touched by both history’s darkness and its moments of light.
Beyond Seven Years in Tibet may not possess the narrative tautness or mythic resonance of the original, but it succeeds as a wide-ranging personal account of a life lived at the intersections of adventure, culture, and conscience.
February 8, 2018
I read this book in Italian. In the first chapters the storytelling is amazing: I really had the feeling to be there, escaping with Harrer from the prison camp in Dehradun, through Nepal and walking in Tibet for days, in the cold and without food, surviving in extreme conditions.
After this part I got bored very soon: a self celebration of a person who doesn't know what is humbleness. An egocentric story about how famous he became and about how may wealthy people he was surrounded by. Maybe it wasn't his intention, I hope so, but he never misses the chance to underline how underdeveloped are the people he met, instead of exalting their traditions and peculiarities.
Five stars for the first part, definitely, but only one for the second.
After this part I got bored very soon: a self celebration of a person who doesn't know what is humbleness. An egocentric story about how famous he became and about how may wealthy people he was surrounded by. Maybe it wasn't his intention, I hope so, but he never misses the chance to underline how underdeveloped are the people he met, instead of exalting their traditions and peculiarities.
Five stars for the first part, definitely, but only one for the second.
November 11, 2019
Ein Leben, welche 20 normale Menschen nicht zusammen erleben würden. Heinrich sein Leben ist wahrlich beeindruckend, bei diesem Buch darf nicht erwartet werden nur aus seiner Zeit aus Tibet zu lesen, nein hier werden all seine Expeditionen beschrieben oder angeschnitten. Nicht alle sind detailliert oder sonderlich emotional geschrieben, das soll meiner Ansicht aber auch bei einer Biografie nicht sein. Wer an den einzelnen Expeditionen interessiert ist, muss seine Einzelbücher lesen. Ich werde versuchen zeitnah in sein Heinrich Harrer Museum zu gehen.
March 17, 2023
The movie was better
February 20, 2016
One of the best bio's I have ever read. What a great life Heinrich enjoyed. Once again an example of being at the right moment at the right spot. This book gave me as well a new insight in the life of Leopold III. A king who never wanted to be one. Adventure is waiting!
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews