"Reveals the dramatic story of a family of Tibetan physicians from Buryatia (Siberia). The Badmayevs brought Tibetan medicine to the West: to St. Petersburg, Poland, Switzerland and the USA. They were border-dwellers who ventured to translate an Eastern Science into occidental thought and culture. Their story reveals a remarkable perspective of Tibetan medicine: namely, not as an ancient healing practice, but as a dynamic body of knowledge. As the Badmayevs made their way to the West, they encountered mystical inclined aristocrats, revolutionary lamas, party members with health problems, two Polish presidents and Swiss authorities. An odyssey which entailed four generations on a journey through the turmoil of the 20th century."--Publisher's website.