So Close To Heaven : The Vanishing Buddhist Kingdoms of the Himalayas

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Summary: Pushing her political agenda
Review: Barbara is pushing her political agenda in this book which detracts from its value.

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Summary: a clear and thoughtful look at the Himalayan kingdoms
Review: So Close to Heaven is a clear and thoughtful look at Bhutan and other (now vanished) Himalayan kingdoms. Crossette is an excellent traveling companion, blending research, analysis and personal observation in a very readable and informative text.

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Summary: A highly readable introduction to Bhutan
Review: The title indicates the book is about Himalayan Buddhism. While small portions are devoted to the Buddhists of Kashmir, Nepal, and Sikkim, the majority of the book is about Bhutan, because it's the last remaining Buddhist monarchy of the Himalayan region. This is not a travel narrative; instead, the material is arranged by topic. It's comprehensive and pleasant to read. It's shortcoming is the author's unabashed bias in favor of the Bhutanese monarchy, despite its dubious record of human rights toward the Hindu minority. Crossette admits she received favored treatment from the king, and it shows. Likewise, she sides with the (now deposed) monarchy of Sikkim. The bias is so transparently obvious, I didn't feel I had been conned, but one expects greater balance from a correspondent of The New York Times.

Rating:
Summary: So Close to Heaven
Review: Worst book ever on the subject. The author has no clue what Buddhism is. I doubt if she's even been here in this part of the world. -Sidhartha

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Summary: One side of the coin
Review: Writers who paint one side of the coin are a bane to the world. Governments records and things as they seem do not make a truth. No body, I repeat, nobody can write the true story about Bhutan if he/she has not been a Bhutanese for entire life. Crossette does not know and will never know the atrocities perpretated by the compassionate "Buddhist King" of Bhutan. She will never know how my fatehr was hung upside down and beaten for not being obedient to the compassionate King. She will never know the fear psychosis of the Bhutanese regime that is strangling itself. Bhutan, the land is beautiful and exotic otherwise I would not be wasting my time telling you it is. The captivating landscape and the mystic religion is a blanket under which tortures and rapes went on, whoile some journalists and historians lost themselves in the myth of the oxymoron, "democratic monarchy". The other side would have blamed Barbara if she had been objective and sensitive to the facts. I blame her because I do not beleive that a minority trhat is seized by fear losing power will be justified to kill. Anyway, Kudos to barbara for the effort. The next book on Bhutan will be written by an author who will have the freedom to see Bhutan freely.