Into Tibet: The CIA's First Atomic Spy and His Secret Expedition to Lhasa

A "fascinating" story of espionage that "fills a blank space in the hidden history of the Cold War" (Houston Chronicle).

Into Tibet is the incredible story of a 1949–1950 American undercover expedition led by America's first atomic agent, Douglas S. Mackiernan—a covert attempt to arm the Tibetans and to recognize Tibet's independence months before China invaded.

A Nepal-based American journalist reveals how the clash between the State Department and the CIA, as well as unguided actions by field agents, hastened the Chinese invasion of Tibet. A gripping narrative of survival, courage, and intrigue among the nomads, princes, and warring armies of inner Asia, Into Tibet rewrites the accepted history behind the Chinese invasion of Tibet.

"A gripping tale." —The Washington Post

Thomas Laird has been based in Kathmandu, Nepal, for thirty years and now divides his time between there and New Orleans. He has worked as a journalist for Time, Asiaweek, and Newsweek. His photography has appeared in two books and more than fifty magazines. His first nonfiction book was Into Tibet: The CIA’s First Atomic Spy and His Secret Expedition to Lhasa.