So Close to Heaven

The Vanishing Buddhist Kingdoms of the Himalayas

Look inside
Paperback
$19.00 US
5.13"W x 7.92"H x 0.76"D  
On sale Jun 25, 1996 | 320 Pages | 978-0-679-74363-7
| Grades 9-12 + AP/IB
This fascinating and colorful book takes students into a world that is just emerging from the middle ages and peering warily into the millennium ahead: the reclusive kingdom of Bhutan which remains true to that religion's riotous marriage of esoteric theology and gorgeous ritual, serenely meditating Buddhas and snarling deities entwined in sexual embrace. Traveling through Bhutan and the adjacent countries, Crosette discovers miracle-working lamas and separatist guerrillas, holy shrines, and the thieves who plunder them, all the while painting an extraordinary and deeply knowledgeable portrait of a culture struggling to survive.

"The past and present of the kingdoms of the Himalayas is examined in a history of both Buddhist thought in the region and a culture under siege. Enjoy a first-person journey which brings an immediacy to the atmosphere of the region and exposes newcomers to the cultures and lives of the peoples."—Midwest Book Review

"There is no other full-length contemporary American account of this likable and largely unvisited kingdom....Crosette unravels the intricacies of Buddhism with considerable clarity."—The New York Times Book Review
Barbara Crossette, who joined the New York Times in 1973, spent seven years as a correspondent in Asia, and is now UN bureau chief. She was a Fulbright Professor of Journalism in India and has taught at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and at Princeton University. She won the 1991 George Polk Award for foreign reporting. She lives in New York City and Upper Black Eddy, Pennsylvania. View titles by Barbara Crossette
1. And Then There Was One
2. The Druk Gyalpo
3. Becoming Buddha
4. Before Tibet, There Was Bon
5. The Road from Lumbini
6. Ladakh: Eclipsed by Other Gods
7. Sikkim: “No One Heard Us Cry”
8. Buddhist Nepal
9. Buddha and the Bhutanese State
10. The Dragon People
11. All Sentient Beings
12. Aum Rinzi’s World
13. Two Capitals, Two Eras
14. To Tashigang
15. One Sunday in Bumthang

An Afterthought
A Glossary of Common Words
"There is no other full-length contemporary American account of this likable and largely unvisited kingdom.... Crosette unravels the intricacies of Buddhism with considerable clarity." —The New York Times Book Review

"Any traveler, actual or armchair, would have a significantly richer experience after reading this book. And for anyone with a serious interest in Buddhism, it's essential reading." —Washington Post Book World

About

This fascinating and colorful book takes students into a world that is just emerging from the middle ages and peering warily into the millennium ahead: the reclusive kingdom of Bhutan which remains true to that religion's riotous marriage of esoteric theology and gorgeous ritual, serenely meditating Buddhas and snarling deities entwined in sexual embrace. Traveling through Bhutan and the adjacent countries, Crosette discovers miracle-working lamas and separatist guerrillas, holy shrines, and the thieves who plunder them, all the while painting an extraordinary and deeply knowledgeable portrait of a culture struggling to survive.

"The past and present of the kingdoms of the Himalayas is examined in a history of both Buddhist thought in the region and a culture under siege. Enjoy a first-person journey which brings an immediacy to the atmosphere of the region and exposes newcomers to the cultures and lives of the peoples."—Midwest Book Review

"There is no other full-length contemporary American account of this likable and largely unvisited kingdom....Crosette unravels the intricacies of Buddhism with considerable clarity."—The New York Times Book Review

Author

Barbara Crossette, who joined the New York Times in 1973, spent seven years as a correspondent in Asia, and is now UN bureau chief. She was a Fulbright Professor of Journalism in India and has taught at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and at Princeton University. She won the 1991 George Polk Award for foreign reporting. She lives in New York City and Upper Black Eddy, Pennsylvania. View titles by Barbara Crossette

Table of Contents

1. And Then There Was One
2. The Druk Gyalpo
3. Becoming Buddha
4. Before Tibet, There Was Bon
5. The Road from Lumbini
6. Ladakh: Eclipsed by Other Gods
7. Sikkim: “No One Heard Us Cry”
8. Buddhist Nepal
9. Buddha and the Bhutanese State
10. The Dragon People
11. All Sentient Beings
12. Aum Rinzi’s World
13. Two Capitals, Two Eras
14. To Tashigang
15. One Sunday in Bumthang

An Afterthought
A Glossary of Common Words

Praise

"There is no other full-length contemporary American account of this likable and largely unvisited kingdom.... Crosette unravels the intricacies of Buddhism with considerable clarity." —The New York Times Book Review

"Any traveler, actual or armchair, would have a significantly richer experience after reading this book. And for anyone with a serious interest in Buddhism, it's essential reading." —Washington Post Book World

PRH Education High School Collections

All reading communities should contain protected time for the sake of reading. Independent reading practices emphasize the process of making meaning through reading, not an end product. The school culture (teachers, administration, etc.) should affirm this daily practice time as inherently important instructional time for all readers. (NCTE, 2019)   The Penguin Random House High

Read more

PRH Education Translanguaging Collections

Translanguaging is a communicative practice of bilinguals and multilinguals, that is, it is a practice whereby bilinguals and multilinguals use their entire linguistic repertoire to communicate and make meaning (García, 2009; García, Ibarra Johnson, & Seltzer, 2017)   It is through that lens that we have partnered with teacher educators and bilingual education experts, Drs.

Read more

PRH Education Classroom Libraries

“Books are a students’ passport to entering and actively participating in a global society with the empathy, compassion, and knowledge it takes to become the problem solvers the world needs.” –Laura Robb   Research shows that reading and literacy directly impacts students’ academic success and personal growth. To help promote the importance of daily independent

Read more