Claude Levenson, one of the leading authorities on the Dalai Lama, gives an inspiring account of the Dalai Lama's youth. She recounts the events of the first 24 years of his life, beginning with the dramatic course that was set before him, when at the age of three he was recognized as the successor to the 13th Dalai Lama, and concluding with his exile to India brought about by the Chinese occupation of Tibet. January.