Elmar R. Gruber

Elmar R. Gruber, PhD, was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1955. He is a psychologist, an independent scholar and freelance popular-science writer, as well as a scientific advisor for radio and television in Europe. He is the author of twenty books that have been published in fifteen languages throughout the world. A longtime practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism, he is a student of Drikung Chetsang Rinpoche.

H.H. the Fourteenth Dalai Lama

His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama is considered the foremost Buddhist leader of our time. The exiled spiritual head of the Tibetan people, he is a Nobel Peace Laureate, a Congressional Gold Medal recipient, and a remarkable teacher and scholar who has authored over one hundred books.

"Gruber skillfully narrates this story of survival and triumph over tragedy without embellishment or sensationalism." —Buddhadharma

"Chetsang Rinpoche is one of the highest incarnate lamas, the head of a tradition. But he also experienced the life of an ordinary American. This is unlike any other biography—one sees how a neighborhood boy can become a great spiritual master." —Gelek Rimpoche, author of Good Life, Good Death

"This is a fascinating, terrifying, moving, and exalting account of a truly great being’s success in rising above adversity and making an outstanding contribution to a part of humanity under extreme pressure. I warmly recommend it to anyone who might like to discover a magnificent chest of treasures." —Professor Robert Thurman, author, with the Dalai Lama, of Infinite Life

"This life story of an extraordinary Buddhist spiritual teacher and intellectual is thoroughly fascinating. This is a must-read for Buddhist scholars and practitioners." —E. Gene Smith, co-founder of the Tibetan Buddhist Center