Introduction

Sky Burial is the remarkable story of a young American man traveling in the Himalayas who inadvertently walked into one of the grimmest - and least-known - scenes of political oppression in the world. Blake Kerr had just graduated from medical school and was fulfilling a lifelong dream by visiting the remote mountain nation of Tibet. Traveling with an old college friend, John Ackerly, he enjoyed the sights and sounds of Lhasa, the "forbidden city" capital of Tibet, and hitch-hiked to Everest, where the two "humped loads" for an American expedition assaulting the mountain's North Ridge.
Upon returning to Lhasa, Kerr and Ackerly swiftly became sensitized to the oppressive character of the Chinese occupying forces and their efforts to eradicate Tibetan culture. Though they knew that Tibet had long been subject to Chinese military rule, their outrage grew as discontent brewed among the Tibetans of Lhasa. Finally, they witnessed a series of demonstrations by Tibetan monks that triggered an explosion of pro-independence protests greater than anything witnessed by foreigners since China entered Tibet in 1949 - protests that were swiftly and brutally quashed by Chinese police and army forces.
Kerr and Ackerly attempted to aid the rebels, but were arrested and endured a brief, harrowing imprisonment. Their efforts to alert the international media met with success, however, and China suffered international embarrassment and condemnation as the story of the crackdown in Lhasa became news in the West. After their forced departure from the country both Kerr and Ackerly became activists committed to ending Tibet's oppression at the hands of China, and Kerr tells the story of his repeated efforts to document the coercive "family-planning" measures instituted by the Chinese in Tibet. This urgent tale has never fully been told. Kerr's account furnishes unprecedented first-hand testimony to the tragic threat of cultural genocide facing Tibet.

Editorial Review

As a way of disposing of corpses in a climate that hampers decomposition, the Tibetans have a custom of taking corpses to a sacred place, breaking up the bones, chopping away the flesh, and leaving it all for vultures to clean up. This is called "sky burial," and as a metaphor for the plight of the Tibetan people, it couldn't be more apt--something Blake Kerr, a doctor fresh out of medical school, discovered by accident. During an innocent visit to Shangri-La, Kerr suddenly found himself treating the wounds of people beaten and shot during the largest riot in Tibet in almost 30 years.

Kerr and his mountaineering buddy John Ackerly start out as typical brazen adventurers. Through several happenstance contacts in Lhasa, however, they are introduced to the lives of Tibetans under communist occupation. What they see is disturbing. Gradually, their sympathies turn toward Tibet and ours toward them. When the riot breaks out, they risk life and limb to chronicle atrocities and assist the wounded. For weeks after, they engage in clandestine operations of assistance. And for years after, they work to bring the oppression, suffering, torture, murder, and forced sterilization of a helpless people to worldwide awareness. Part rollicking travel story, part investigative journalism, Sky Burial is finally a testament and will leave you staring blankly, wondering what can be done. --Brian Bruya

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