An Account of Tibet : The Travels of Ippolito Desideri, 1712-1727/edited by Filippo De Filippi. New Delhi, Rupa, 2005, 545 p., illus., $30 (pbk). ISBN 81-291-0777-5.

    Contents: Introduction: The Jesuit Mission in Tibet, 1625-1721/C. Wessels, S.J. Preface. 1. Describing the journey from Rome to Lhasa, capital of third Thibet, and my mission there... 2. Containing an account of the country, customs and Civil Government of Thibet... 3. Describing the false and peculiar religion prevailing in Thibet... 4. How the mission departed from Lhasa and returned to Europe after visiting other missions. Appendix: Report on Tibet and its routes/Emanoel Freyre, S.J. Bibliographical index of the works quoted. Bibliography of Desideri. General Index. Index of Tibetan words.

    "Written more than 250 years ago, this record of Father Ippolito Desideri's stay in Tibet, extending over a period of five years, provides the first accurate general description of Tibet in all its particulars -- the flora, fauna, products of the soil, the inhabitants and their special customs, the constitution of the family, the nuptial and funerary rites, the social organization, and finally a complete exposition of Lamaism derived from the author's study of the canonical books and their commentaries and from a daily and familiar intercourse with the doctors of Lamaism and the life of the Lamaseries, made possible by his knowledge of the Tibetan language.

    Divided into four books, the work describes the author's journey of three and a half years from Rome to Lhasa and his mission work there; the nature, character, customs and Civil Government of Tibet; Tibetan religion and its hierarchy; and his return, by a different route, to Europe, and of other missions in which he was engaged for some time."

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