In 1959 a nineteen year-old lama, Chogyam Trungpa, led 300 Tibetan men, women and children on a desperate nine-month escape from pursuing Communist troops. Forced to travel where people had never been, they trekked through some of the world's harshest weather and most treacherous mountain terrain. Then, starving and exhausted, they attempted a river crossing under heavy gunfire in flimsy vessels they'd made themselves -- only to face a midwinter climb over the Himalayas. This near-mythic journey can be seen to stand with such legendary accounts of courage, adventure and leadership as Shackleton's famous 1914-17 Antarctic expedition. Unlike those, it was sometimes shaken by dissension and even outright sabotage -- but it was also marked by great compassion and good humor, and touched by a magic long gone from the Western world. At heart it is the story of ordinary people and their young leader taking a vast leap into the unknown, to make one of history's most extraordinary escapes. Told in spare, gripping language, the story is enhanced by Chogyam Trungpa's hand-drawn maps and illustrations, survivors' recollections and a commentary highlighting the back stories. Links to a gallery of images, video footage and satellite imagery enable readers to follow the stunning route and breathe in the spectacular landscape.
From Lion's Jaws: Chogyam Trungpa's Epic Escape To The West, Grant Maclean, Mountain, Paperback, 2016, 350 pages, $24.95

Born in South Africa, Grant MacLean graduated in psychology from Harvard University before developing interests in Tibetan Buddhism, history and strategy. His previous publications include a short history of Halifax and, as co-author/-translator, the best-selling Denma edition of Sun Tzu's classic Art of War. He lives in Nova Scotia.

CONTENTS: From Lion's Jaws
	Prologue	1
	PART I
1.	Surmang	19
2.	Closing Storm	39
3.	Razor's Edge	60
4.	The Valley of Mystery	80
	PART II
5.	Lhasa-bound	103
6.	Rifts Above Nyewo Valley	123
7.	The Bridge to Rigong Kha	141
8.	Tsophu Valley	155
9.	Strange Land	167
10.	Wilderness	183
11.	Into the Dark	197
	PART III
12.	The Crossing	215
13.	The Himalayas	235
14.	Pema Ko to Tuting	252
15.	India	270
	Epilogue	291
APPENDIX		311
	Chogyam Trungpa poem: In the North of the Sky
	Resources: gallery of images; downloadable route, maps
	Selected Reading
NOTES		319