Instruct: Classify a given review as either positive or negative.
Query: a very personal look at life in Tibet before the occupation

Of all the books I've read on Tibet (about 6), this stands out as the most personal account. Thubten Jigme Norbu, eldest brother of the Dalai Lama tells in tender detail about his childhood as the son of Tibetan peasants, his discovery as an incarnate lama, and his life in the Buddhist monasteries. It's interesting to read about this earlier perspective of the Dalai Lama's family members. Thubten Jigme Norbu learned of his brother's discovery as the Dalai Lama, and of his flight from Tibet to India from a distance. He mentions that because of the great differences in age, and the distance between their home and the monasteries where they were installed, the first time he and all his brothers ever sat down to dinner together was after the Chinese occupation. I really enjoyed reading about the little details of his early life, and the great amount of emotion in his story.