Duke University Press Beyond Shangri-La: America and Tibet's Move into the Twenty-First Century (American Encounters/Global Interactions)

Beyond Shangri-La chronicles relations between the Tibetans and the United States since 1908, when a Dalai Lama first met with U.S. representatives. What was initially a distant alliance became more intimate and entangled in the late 1950s, when the Tibetan people launched an armed resistance movement against the Chinese occupiers. The Tibetans fought to oust the Chinese and to maintain the presence of the current Dalai Lama and his direction of their country. In 1958, John Kenneth Knaus volunteered to serve in a major CIA program to support the Tibetans. For the next seven years, as an operations officer working from India, from Colorado, and from Washington, D.C., he cooperated with the Tibetan rebels as they utilized American assistance to contest Chinese domination and to attain international recognition as an independent entity. Since the late 1950s, the rugged resolve of the Dalai Lama and his people and the growing respect for their efforts to free their homeland from Chinese occupation have made Tibet's political and cultural status a pressing issue in international affairs. So has the realization by nations, including the United States, that their geopolitical interests would best be served by the defeat of the Chinese and the achievement of Tibetan self-determination. Beyond Shangri-La provides unique insight into the efforts of the U.S. government and committed U.S. citizens to support a free Tibet. Review ". . . this is the most complete history of US-Tibet relations currently available and will lend itself well to classroom adoption."--A. Tom Grunfeld "The China Quarterly" "[T]his is a well-documented study of the complex America-China-Tibet triangle."-- "Publishers Weekly" "Here, for the first time, is the full story of Washington's official relationship with Tibet, from the first encounter between a U.S. diplomat and the then Dalai Lama in 1908 to the recent patter of congressional and White House pressure on Beijing to engage in dialogue." -- "Foreign Affairs" "John Kenneth Knaus provides a diplomat's history of Tibet.... [T]his book is an invaluable reading of U.S.-Tibetan relations from the point of view of someone who was himself a participant in this history." --Carole McGranahan "American Historical Review" "Knaus...has produced an elegant and stimulating book, which is a must read for anyone interested in Tibet. Essential."--Z. Zhu "Choice" "Knaus' fascinating insights into the intricacies of diplomacy and the mix of personalities and interests, both individual and national, which inform political policy and decision-making serve to demystify global politics and international relations. This book therefore will be of value to students of these fields, as well as to ibet watchers and scholars."--Amy Mountcastle "The China Journal" " Beyond Shangri-La is a valuable and highly informative contribution to understanding both Tibet and the history of American foreign policy in Asia. Benefiting from the author's personal experience with America's Tibet policy, first as a CIA officer and later as an institutional historian, the book gives often dramatic insights into the surprisingly crucial role of individual officials in government shifts of policy and direction. It comes at a time when America's relations with China are at a point of unprecedented importance for world affairs and when understanding the deep history of the difficult issues within that relationship--Tibet chief among them--is important to successfully navigating them."-- Robert Barnett, author of Lhasa: Streets with Memories "I am honored to herald Ken Knaus's masterful account of America's role in Tibet's agonizing and inspiring progress into a future that is still uncertain. . . . A hearty welcome to this magnum opus, and may its skillful narrative and honest factual presentation create a forceful if implicit wake-up call that comes to fruition as soon as possible."-- Robert A. F. Tenzin Thurman, from the forew