In 1939, the outbreak of war caught a German expedition attempting to climb Nanga Parbat in India. Its members were imprisoned by the British in a prisoner-of-war camp. One of them, Austrian Heinrich Harrer, managed to escape and reach Tibet, a neutral country where foreigners were forbidden entry. Together with his compatriot Peter Aufschnaiter, he trekked over two thousand five hundred kilometers on foot to reach Lhasa, the forbidden city, where, after immersing himself in Tibetan language and culture, he became a teacher and friend of the young Dalai Lama. First published in 1952 and considered a classic of adventure literature, Seven Years in Tibet is the thrilling chronicle of Harrer’s epic journey through one of the most hostile regions on earth and of the years he spent in feudal Tibet before China’s annexation, a land few Westerners had visited until then. His story is not only one of courage and perseverance but also an unprecedented glimpse into a world unknowingly living its final days.