For over three decades, Pico Iyer, one of our most cherished travel writers, has been a friend to the Dalai Lama. Over these years through intimate...
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Mar 04, 2009
Mazola1
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The Open Road bills itself as a look at the paradoxical life of the Dalai Lama written by someone who has known him for three decades. While the book does examine the Dalai Lama as a spiritual and temporal leader, a man with one foot planted firmly in the ancient past of his Buddhist tradition and one foot planted firmly in the modern world, it is surprisingly superficial and spotty.
The premise of the book is far better than its execution. For instance, Iyer quotes a Tibetan as sayi More...
The premise of the book is far better than its execution. For instance, Iyer quotes a Tibetan as sayi More...
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May 26, 2008
Brayden
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Iyer is a travel writer who has a personal relationship with the Dalai Lama dating back to his youth. In this book Ayer provides an insider's view of the Dalai Lama's life and mind. I didn't know much about the man before reading the book, and so I was surprised by a lot of what I read. Iyer points out that the Dalai Lama on the surface seems to be full of contradictions (for example, he values science and logic but he also believes in prophecy and spiritual manifestations). Iyer helps the rea
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Jan 07, 2009
Read the STOP SMILING review of The Open Road:
We are not accustomed to thinking of our leaders as perennially jolly, which has at times proven to be a problem for the Dalai Lama. Though he is one of the world's wisest and certainly one of its most spiritual men, Pico Iyer reminds us that he sometimes sounds like he is promoting saccharine, feel-good truths — “bromides, as it may seem, that tell people no more than any Golden Rule or Boy Scout’s manual might.” In part, this is because More...
We are not accustomed to thinking of our leaders as perennially jolly, which has at times proven to be a problem for the Dalai Lama. Though he is one of the world's wisest and certainly one of its most spiritual men, Pico Iyer reminds us that he sometimes sounds like he is promoting saccharine, feel-good truths — “bromides, as it may seem, that tell people no more than any Golden Rule or Boy Scout’s manual might.” In part, this is because More...
Oct 27, 2011
Ann
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The selection for my book group, I was delighted to learn more about the Dalai Lama. Pico Iyer has known the Dalai Lama for more than 30 years, having been introduced through his father, an Oxford don who was born in India. Iyer, an essay, novelist, and travel writer, has spent considerable time in Dharamsala,India, home to the Dalai Lama has his government in exile and to many Tibetan exiles. Further he has attended many of the Dalai Lama's visits around the world.
Although biogra More...
Although biogra More...
May 23, 2010
Snap
rated it: 
I don't know where to start! I mentioned several times to Mr. Dragon that I never write in books ... just one of my *laws*, but I sure wanted to write in this one. Finally, after hearing me say this daily, Mr. D looked at me and said "write in the book"!!! So I did. There is just so much in it that I want to remember and look at again. Pico Iyer in this book "tried to be a general reader speaking to other general readers, and bringing little more than the curiosity and interest o
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Feb 05, 2009
In his study of the Dalai Lama, Iyer offers a rich historical context made stronger by his own diligent research and vast knowledge of global politics (not to mention a personal connection). Given the current unrest between Tibet and China, Iyer's book takes on additional weight by lending urgency to the story of an otherwise little understoodif venerated and idolizedman and his goals, both speciously simple in a complex world. (Only the Washington Post cited weak analysis of the Dalai Lama-
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Jul 28, 2011
An engaging book about the plight on modern Tibet, focusing on the dilemmas faced by the Dalai Lama. A considerate discussion of the spiritual vs. political and global vs. local motivations faced by a people whose country has practically disappeared.
Rather glowing in its description of Dharamsala; new visitors would probably be disappointed after reading this book. Having been there though, with eyes closed it seems, I very much enjoyed seeing more than the symptoms of exile, and getting a feel More...
Rather glowing in its description of Dharamsala; new visitors would probably be disappointed after reading this book. Having been there though, with eyes closed it seems, I very much enjoyed seeing more than the symptoms of exile, and getting a feel More...
Jul 08, 2009
Angie
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This was a thoroughly enjoyable book. Of course, this is coming from someone who spent a year in Dharamsala and charted out a map of McLeod Ganj in the margins when I realized that he was going to tell us where each of the main roads go to.
I felt as if Iyer's observations, while trivial, improved the readability of the work and possibly served as a way to draw the ordinary reader into the environment that is Dharamsala. (As someone who's been there, I felt that most of his observatio More...
I felt as if Iyer's observations, while trivial, improved the readability of the work and possibly served as a way to draw the ordinary reader into the environment that is Dharamsala. (As someone who's been there, I felt that most of his observatio More...
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Nov 06, 2010
Nathan
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The Dalai Lama is a singular spiritual presence in our time. The religious and political leader of an isolated and anachronistic Himalayan culture, he was thrust into modernity and onto the global scene when he fled Tibet decades ago to escape the invading Chinese. Iyer ponders the unique significance of the Dalai Lama as a both a champion of nonviolent resistance working to a preserve a culture crushed under the heals of the next superpower, and as a key voice calling for a renewed global ethic
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May 11, 2011
Zeba
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Pico Iyer is arguably the best Indian travel writer of our generation. One of the most important characteristics of Iyer’s writing which sets him apart from other travel writers, is that he does not describe the landmark monuments and historical treasures of the places he visits. He describes life as it is lived there. He describes the people. He uses lucid descriptions of the sights and sounds of the place to transport the reader to the place.
Perhaps one of the most inspirational per More...
Perhaps one of the most inspirational per More...
Jun 01, 2008
Elissa
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didn't love it, but i liked some parts of it. maybe because i read it 5 pages at a time right before bed.
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Sep 22, 2009
David
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Unsuccessful attempt to be both memoir and biography, with some hero-worship thrown in. It's not a complete waste of time, but the writing is often self-indulgent and self-congratulatory. (I loved the moment that went something like: "I heard the Dalai Lama won the Nobel Prize so I dropped in to personally congratulate him. I figured he wouldn't mind.")
The book was predictably biased, and also shirked challenging questions like, "The Tibetans think you're a god. So, are More...
The book was predictably biased, and also shirked challenging questions like, "The Tibetans think you're a god. So, are More...
Aug 10, 2010
Ron
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Wonderfully informative book on the 14th Dalai Lama, the man and his beliefs, viewed alongside other explorers and ideas in history and in contemporary society. First meeting the Dalai Lama when quite young, Iyer offers us a close-up view of the Dalai Lama's life, touching on his life history as most books on the Dalai Lama do, but more on what's helped the Dalai Lama form his viewpoints and beliefs through the years on a wide range of topics, besides religion and spirituality, and why such b...
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Jun 21, 2011
Suzy
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I was hoping to be inspired by this book, but I wasn't. My dumb. For one thing, the DL didn't write the book, a journalist wrote a book about him. This is the second journalist to quite disappoint me with his book writing. (Is this akin to great stand-up comedians making lousy movies? The slightly-wrong genre?) Iyer's writing was an obstacle, to be honest. it is fraught with parenthetical and em-dashed remarks that were often longer than the sentence in which they were imbedded. Needless to
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Nov 09, 2009
Anita
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Pico Iyer's journalistic training comes through strongly in this book. The book reads more like a linked-set of NY Times magazine articles rather than a cohesive book with a story to tell.
Iyer is also more focused on the tragic political situation in Tibet rather than on Tibetan Buddhism and that shows plainly throughout. This isn't a bad thing but it wasn't what I expected exactly.
I also thought that since Iyer and his family have had a long-standing personal relations More...
Iyer is also more focused on the tragic political situation in Tibet rather than on Tibetan Buddhism and that shows plainly throughout. This isn't a bad thing but it wasn't what I expected exactly.
I also thought that since Iyer and his family have had a long-standing personal relations More...
May 09, 2008
Kristianne
rated it:
If you meet the Dalai Lama on the road. . .
How are we to think about the Dalai Lama? He is a Nobel laureate, a king kept from his country, a spiritual leader, a pop culture darling and an unswerving voice of global compassion. In the past half century he has been thrust onto the world’s stage, first as a fairy tale prince driven from his home and now as the beatific wise man who has charmed billions of people across the globe, drawing 65,000 people to Qwest stadium in Seattle to hea More...
How are we to think about the Dalai Lama? He is a Nobel laureate, a king kept from his country, a spiritual leader, a pop culture darling and an unswerving voice of global compassion. In the past half century he has been thrust onto the world’s stage, first as a fairy tale prince driven from his home and now as the beatific wise man who has charmed billions of people across the globe, drawing 65,000 people to Qwest stadium in Seattle to hea More...
Mar 31, 2008
Ann
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I'm very glad to have read this book. Iyer does an excellent job of exploring the conflicts inherent in the Dalai Lalma's dual role as a secular/spiritual leader. Nonviolence is such a hard road. How does one know it's working? How can it not be seen as appeasement, especially when China is the opponent, and has moved not one inch in its position in the last 50 years? This is what many outside observers ask, as well as frustrated young Tibetans. But the Dalai Lama answers that these are th
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May 25, 2010
Carolyn
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The reflections of a journalist who has known the Dalai Lama for more than 30 years, this personal account grapples with philosophy, science, spirituality, politics, and celebrity, as evidenced in the singular person and personality of the Nobel laureate. Iyer recognizes the limitations of his knowledge-- given his subject's eighteen years of isolated study and the continuing private esoteric practice and study which occupies him for the first 6 hours of every day, What emerges is a complex por
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Sep 06, 2008
MJ
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This has been a slow read for me - I kept going off and reading other things, then coming back to it. Not because it was difficult, but just so dense with ideas. It is a sort of biography by Pico Iyer of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama and attempts to explain his delicate position as leader of a country that virtually no longers exists, having been systematically destroyed by the Chinese since he escaped it at the age of 14. It explores his philosophies, his attempts to bring his people into a modern
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Apr 13, 2010
*heartrl*
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Great, non-linear, non-traditional wandering narrative that deals with a lot of emotion and fairy tale around the Dalai Lama. It's not great if you are looking for information about Tibet or The Dalai Lama himself, but it's fantastic as a sort of meditation on these things.
I enjoyed it- but could see it being boring to anyone who goes in with the wrong idea or wanting something more from it.
I enjoyed it- but could see it being boring to anyone who goes in with the wrong idea or wanting something more from it.
Oct 13, 2008
JennyGranola
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I was really excited when I picked this book up a the library. And I was still excited after reading the first couple of pages. But the deeper I got into what I thought would be a sort of life story, the more I felt like I was at a dinner party full of extremely intelligent people who already knew the story and were just chuckling over little inside jokes on karma and the "chi" of the universe. I ended up skipping around looking for a real story to follow for my little brain, but ended
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Aug 06, 2008
Nancy
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I'm a little disappointed because I had high expectations. I like Pico Iyer's writing so much, and I'm somewhat interested in Tibetan Buddhism.
The author's purpose is, I believe, to peal away the layers of myth and cult surrounding the Dali Lama and give the reader an insight into the Dali Lama as a person, an exiled head of state, and to some, a god figure. (Pico Iyer's father is a friend of the Dali Lama, and Pico himself has known him for more than 30 years).
Instead, I came away More...
The author's purpose is, I believe, to peal away the layers of myth and cult surrounding the Dali Lama and give the reader an insight into the Dali Lama as a person, an exiled head of state, and to some, a god figure. (Pico Iyer's father is a friend of the Dali Lama, and Pico himself has known him for more than 30 years).
Instead, I came away More...
Oct 10, 2010
Russ
rated it:
The most interesting man in the world does not drink Dos Equis -- in fact, he does not drink at all. And along with being the most interesting man in the world, the 14th Dalai Lama may be the most interestED man in the world. His words have helped countless millions, yet even in his 70s, he still seeks and queries himself. A fascinating look at the man behind the words.
Dec 30, 2008
Peter
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This is a great companion piece to the book Why The Dalia Lama matters (see review). Iyer, a rather astute observer of the evoloving global culture has written an intriguing biography/cultural history of the Dalai Lama and his times. It is filled with fascinating history as well as troubling questions.
Feb 06, 2009
Suju
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I enjoyed this book but, though I have not read other books about the Dalai Lama, my guess is this is not the cream of the crop. I appreciated the fact that Iyer has a special relationship with the DL (Iyer's father was a friend of the DL's) and I think he exploits that to some extent in terms of giving us insight into the man. But I often felt that the book lacked focus and I wasn't quite certain what the thesis was or was supposed to be. My favorite part of the book was probably the section
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Jul 05, 2010
Bob
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The author uses a personal connection with the Dalai Lama to follow him in his travels and offers an intimate portrait of his life. The author digs deeper than mere aphorisms to present what the man believes and the conflicts which face him and Tibet. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride.
Jul 05, 2009
William
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Very interesting story of the 14th Dalai Lama. Tibet's political situation and the modern evolution of Buddhism. Historical and well presented. The author Pico Iyer presented to the Las Vegas Literary Society and was a very interesting speaker with huge knowledge of the Dalai Lama.
Mar 23, 2009
Sarika
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So this book was kind of hard for me to get through in the begining, but I started getting really into it and ended up learing so much and finished the book with a million more questions about the situation in Tibet and the role and life of the Dalai Lama. It left me wanting find out more which was great b/c the author includes a reading list at the end of the book which I plan on cheking out--will let you guys know what I think!
Apr 12, 2008
Alexis
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I'd only read some short articles by Pico Iyer before I picked up this book. I plan to read more of Iyer's books because I really enjoy his writing style.
This book is a portrait and overview of the Dalai Lama. Iyer's father was friends with His Holiness and Iyer has known him for more than 30 years. This enables him to give a good overview of the DL and his general character and daily life. I like the DL a lot, and appreciated the chance to learn more about his character. However, th More...
This book is a portrait and overview of the Dalai Lama. Iyer's father was friends with His Holiness and Iyer has known him for more than 30 years. This enables him to give a good overview of the DL and his general character and daily life. I like the DL a lot, and appreciated the chance to learn more about his character. However, th More...
Apr 13, 2010
Hana
rated it:
While this isn't a biography, this is a great book with insight into the Dalai Lama as he is: a man. It doesn't soften the question of if he's done right or wrong in his handling over the decades he's attempted to regain Tibet's autonomy. It is a conglomerate of what his message is, what has worked, what could be done different, what his own people think, even what his own siblings believe. It made me respect His Holiness all the more.
