Brown, Mick : The Dance Of 17 Lives (Hardcover)

Journalist and author of the Spiritual Tourist, Mick Brown, presents the surreal web of political intrigue surrounding the recognition and life of the young 17th Karmapa. Told with engaging clarity and zest, here are stories of miracles and allegations of murder, and the settling of 200 year-old scores as piety jostles with greed, truth with falsehood, and the strength of human aspiration with the frailty of human nature.

The Karmapas are the oldest lineage of identified reincarnates in Tibet, older even than the Dalai Lamas. In January 2000, the then fourteen-year old 17th Karmapa arrived in India, the culmination of a remarkable escape from Tibet. Fascinated by this charismatic young figure, the author travelled to meet him, and found himself drawn into the labyrinthe web of intrigue that followed the appearance of a rival contestant to the throne. In this feud of Byzantine complexity, Brown gains unique access to both sides, following each twist in the tale. At the centre of it all is the extraordinary figure of one of the greatest spiritual teachers of the coming age: the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa.

"An extraordinary story…crisp, dramatic and scrupulously even-handed." Sunday Telegraph.

"Compelling…Dance of 17 Lives is investigative journalism of the highest order." Daily Telegraph.