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Blessings of Bhutan (A Latitude 20 Book) | 
 enlarge | Authors: Russ Carpenter, Blyth Carpenter
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  8 reviews
Sales Rank: 151582
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 196
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6 x 0.5
ISBN: 0824826795
Dewey Decimal Number: 954.98
EAN: 9780824826796
ASIN: 0824826795
Publication Date: 2002
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| Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
 I loved it - But check out this Scholar's point by point Review! June 27, 2006
21 out of 27 found this review helpful
RUSS and BLYTH CARPENTER.
The Blessings of Bhutan
Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2002. v, 186 pp. Colour plates, notes, glossary, index. US$24.95, paper.
It is rare that one has the chance to review a book so inadequate that one is hard-pushed to find a positive word to write about it.
The Blessings of Bhutan is, most unfortunately, such a book. One cannot imagine why University of Hawai'i Press, an otherwise reputable press that previously released the charming Painter's Year in the Forests of Bhutan by A. K. Hellum, has now published the Carpenters' recycled cliches and Orientalist imaginings. The authors start out on a hapless tack "... visitors often feel altered by Bhutan ... their inner selves are stirred ... [and] many come home with a nagging feeling that they
were at the edge of learning something important, something primary" (p. 1). With this Conradesque backdrop in place, Russ and Blyth Carpenter enter the Heart of Lightness with their readers in tow. Their account of travelling and working in Bhutan is so personalised that those of us who have never visited their home in the USA wonder why they so frequently refer to it: "Bhutan reminds us of Vida, Oregon. Our hometown has a store ..." (p. 7).
Their rambling anecdotes come across as impressionistic accounts from a journal, and are surely more suited to family archives or a Christmas letter home to friends than to publication as a monograph by an academic press. The authors trade in stereotype and are partial to a disparaging kind of anti-intellectualism, embodied by the statements:
"only a masochist would want to know the names of all the languages spoken in
Central and Eastern Bhutan" and "Bhutan's geography changes from challenging to
nearly hopeless" (p. 8). As if this were not disturbing enough, their hagiography of the kings of Bhutan as embodying "wisdom, strength, vision, and selfless behaviour" which they "daydream about the United States borrowing" (p. 9) is surely at odds with the sentence handed down by a previous king who had a citizen "whipped with peach branches until he convulsed and fell unconscious" (p. 18).
While this book has no scholarly pretensions, and readers would do better to travel to Bhutan with the Lonely Planet guidebook, the lack of engagement with issues that affect contemporary Bhutan, such as the activities of Indian rebels along the southern border or the plight of the Lhotsampa refugees (Bhutanese Hindus of Nepali origin) is simply negligent.
In only one place are these issues touched upon, and then shrouded in euphemism and dodged in an amateurish and unconvincing way: "Many of the things we could say here about the southern problem would be out-of-date by the time this book is published" (p. 168).
In short, this book fails to deliver at all levels. The obvious delight the authors have in Bhutan is marred by their thinly disguised condescension: "in our view, the Bhutanese do not understand the insidious and destructive consequences of television" (p. 174) and platitudinous generalisations such as "we have no hesitations about the essential intellectual capability of the Bhutanese people" (p. 169). At best, perhaps the Carpenters could recycle their text for an in-flight magazine on Bhutan's national airline.
MARK TURIN
University of Cambridge
The Soul of Bhutan December 31, 2005
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
The Carpenters' book is not the first one that I have read on this magical Asian kingdom but it is definitely one of the best summaries out there. The authors succeeded in bringing the abstract closer to us; they offer an easily digestable, very interesting and engaging reading about Bhutan. What is even better they bring up further topics of interest and discussion that may make you look for more reading on the country itself, some of the characters from Bhutanese history or Buddhism in general. However, if you would like to find out more about tourist destinations in Bhutan I recommend that you get Pommaret's book or the Lonely Planet guide, as this book is more about the spiritual side, the soul of Bhutanese people and its manifestations in everyday life, religion and culture.
An Intriguing Introduction to Bhutan June 8, 2004
31 out of 31 found this review helpful
"The Blessings of Bhutan" is a personal and fascinating compilation of very short, and very readable, essays (or "sketches") about authors Russ and Blyth Carpenter's experiences and understanding of Bhutanese life. The book is separated into eight parts covering Bhutanese culture and geography; ancient Bhutanese religion and its relationship to Buddhism and Bhutanese archery; Tantric Buddhism; Bhutanese art and medicine; reincarnation (especially as it applies to the environment); sexuality in Bhutanese culture; women in Bhutan; and the Carpenter's reflections on Bhutan's policy of "Gross National Happiness" and on Bhutan's future. The book also has a very useful glossary of terms that makes reading much easier as well as a recommending reading list.The authors' love and admiration of Bhutan and Bhutanese people is very apparent in their sketches. While many things about Bhutan can easily baffle a tourist (like the almost contradictory sexual attitude of the Bhutanese or the concept of "Gross National Happiness"), they explain these things in terms of the Bhutanese culture. I found the book extremely easy to read and engaging, and appreciated the experiences the Carpenters shared as well as the facts. You can read the book back to front or just skip around and read about which aspects of the culture you're interested in. This is the first book I have read about Bhutan, and I'm glad I got it!
Blessings of Bhutan June 15, 2003
7 out of 13 found this review helpful
Absolutely one of the best books that I have read on the country of Bhutan. After reading several chapters, I was ready to travel on one of the tours to Bhutan, which are led by authors Russ and Blyth Carpenter.
Don't Miss this Gem April 7, 2003
28 out of 28 found this review helpful
This meaty little book is informed by the experience of the authors'numerous visits (including working trips) to Bhutan, extensive research, and the wisdom of many lively but respectful conversations with Bhutanese friends. Gorgeous color photographs by the authors supplement the vivid, lucid writing. There is intrigue in seeimg how these two self-described linear thinkers are gradually changed by confronting an intuitive culture with a Tantric lifestyle and a heritage of both Tibetan Buddhism and the remnants of the pre-Buddhist Bon religion. What will be the effect of television, which has only now entered the culture, on this relatively isolated culture? What do monks do all day? What does it mean to measure a culture by its Gross National Happiness? Why is Bhutan known as Little Switzerland? These are among the many questions the Carpenters answer. One could not have better guides to this intriguing country.
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