Sky Burial: An Eyewitness Account of China's Brutal Crackdown in Tibet

As a way of disposing of corpses in a climate that hampers decomposition, the Tibetans have a custom of taking corpses to a sacred place, breaking up the bones, chopping away the flesh, and leaving it all for vultures to clean up. This is called "sky burial," and as a metaphor for the plight of the Tibetan people, it couldn't be more apt--something Blake Kerr, a doctor fresh out of medical school, discovered by accident. During an innocent visit to Shangri-La, Kerr suddenly found himself treating the wounds of people beaten and shot during the largest riot in Tibet in almost 30 years.

Kerr and his mountaineering buddy John Ackerly start out as typical brazen adventurers. Through several happenstance contacts in Lhasa, however, they are introduced to the lives of Tibetans under communist occupation. What they see is disturbing. Gradually, their sympathies turn toward Tibet and ours toward them. When the riot breaks out, they risk life and limb to chronicle atrocities and assist the wounded. For weeks after, they engage in clandestine operations of assistance. And for years after, they work to bring the oppression, suffering, torture, murder, and forced sterilization of a helpless people to worldwide awareness. Part rollicking travel story, part investigative journalism, Sky Burial is finally a testament and will leave you staring blankly, wondering what can be done. --Brian Bruya