India, Aug. 9 -- A magnificent biography that combines historical research, travel writing, the discussion of religion and everyday culture, Old Lhasa is an unusually comprehensive account of the fabled city. It is also a portrait of an entire people, both those who still live in Tibet, and those who are in exile. In his preface, Lobsang Sangay, former president of the Central Tibetan Administration in India, states that the book brings the reader closer to "the real spirit of Lhasa". The work has been critically acclaimed. Some, such as Alan Babington-Smith, president of the Royal Asiatic Society in Beijing, have called it a "remarkable history". "Experts will find that Aldrich has shaken the kaleidoscope of the history and geography of Lhasa and Tibet into new and illuminating patterns... he unravels the colourful threads that make Lhasa and Tibet so fascinating," Babington-Smith has said....