Steven’s Reviews > Magic and Mystery in Tibet > Status Update

I'm still having issues with the way this author is narrating her Tibetan experience. She simply cannot resist comparing Vajrayana Buddhism to what she calls "Orthodox Buddhism," or Theravada. I have to give her the benefit of the doubt though, because of the time period in which this book was written. At the time, westerners had no other reference point besides their own orientalist opinions.

This book was written in the early 20th century, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that the author is a bit orientalist in her attitudes towards the Tibetan people. However, Alexandra David-Neel was one of the first westerners to ever travel to Tibet, so I'm interested to see what the rest of the book is like. Despite the orientalism, her writing style is very readable.