The first authorized biography of the Dalai Lama – an alternately inspiring and shocking story – of an acclaimed Tibetan scholar, with privileged access to the subject of his book. The Dalai Lama's message of peace and compassion resonates with people of all faiths and those of no faith. However, due to all his fame around the world, he is often evasive. Alexander Norman – an acclaimed Oxford-trained scholar of Tibetan history – offers the definitive biography, unique and unforgettable. The Dalai Lama recounts an incredible odyssey from a remote Tibetan village to his global position as spiritual and political leader of one of the deepest and most complex cultural traditions in the world. Norman reveals that although the Dalai Lama has never been comfortable with his political situation, he has been a shrewd player – for a time backed by the CIA – that has moved amid widespread violence, including standing at the center of a dangerous schism in Buddhism. However, even more surprising than the action politics –Norman convinces us–, is the extraordinary spiritual practice of the Dalai Lama, based on magic, revelation, and prophecy, the details of which are illuminated for the first time in this book. A revealing life story of one of our most radical, charismatic and beloved world leaders of our epoch.