The Last Barbarians: The Discovery of the Source of the Mekong in TibetIn 1994, seizing the rarest of opportunities to journey deep into occupied Tibet, Michel Peissel accomplished what scores of Western explorers had tried and failed to do for more than a hundred years: He found the source of the Mekong River in the ice-strewn fields on the "roof of the world". This immensely readable account tells how a small group of modern adventurers made history not once, but twice, in the course of a single year: by accurately charting the origins of one of Asia's most majestic and storied waterways and by finding a living fossil, the Riwoche horse, a species unknown to contemporary zoology that may prove to be a missing link in equine evolution. The book's stage is forbidden Tibet - with its tragic politics, its natural wonder, and its fiercely independent nomadic tribes, who are known to the Chinese as "the last barbarians". |
Other editions - View all
The Last Barbarians: The Discovery of the Source of the Mekong in Tibet Michel Peissel Limited preview - 1997 |
The Last Barbarians: The Discovery Of The Source Of The Mekong In Tibet Michel Peissel Limited preview - 2015 |
The Last Barbarians: The Discovery of the Source of the Mekong in Tibet Michel Peissel No preview available - 1998 |
Common terms and phrases
altitude Amdo animals Asia barbarians began Beijing Bhutan Brahmaputra breed British camp cave century Chamdo China Chinese crossed Dalai Lama Dam Chu dark drove Drug-di Dutreuil de Rhins Dza Nak Dzong Equus caballus expedition explorers fact feet felt find the source flow French galloped garrison Goloks gorge grass Grenard hail head herd high plateau Himalayan horizon hundred Indian Jacques jeep Jeykundo journey Kham Khambas kiang knew Ladakh lamaism land Lhasa Ling live looked Lungmo Mekong River miles monastery monks mountains Moyun muleteer Nangchen Nangchen horse Nepal nomads once pass People's Liberation Army ponies Przewalski Qinghai range reached region riding river Riwoche road saddle Sag-ri Sebastian seemed snow stream territory thousand Tibet Tibetan plateau took trail tribes tributary upper Mekong valley wild Xining Yangtze Yellow River young Yushu Zadoi Zanskar