THERE ARE MANY books about Tibet in which the authors' personal concerns alternate with potted history. Tibet, Tibet: A Personal History is one of the best. Patrick French used to be one of the sturdiest Free Tibet campaigners, but he now thinks the Tibetan exiles should make a deal with Beijing and hope that some day the Chinese reform themselves and allow a revival of Tibetan culture. He doubts 'whether a free Tibet has any meaning without a free China'.

The book is full of good stories. Larry King, of Larry King Live, the world's most watched talk show, addressed the Dalai Lama as 'a leading Muslim'. On another occasion, at an event at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles, Sharon Stone, she of no knickers and serial murders