Tiger for Breakfast by Michel Peissel

Michel Peissel's biography of Boris Lissanevitch is a wonderful evocation of Kathmandu in the mid-twentieth century. Born in Odessa, Ukraine, in 1905, Boris was lured into a career in ballet to prevent his being shanghaied into the Russian army. He became a renowned dancer who travelled widely and wound up as a hotelier and restaurateur in Kathmandu which was his home from 1951 until the end of his life in 1985. He established the famous Yak and Yeti Hotel and Restaurant and was witness to the opening up of the closed country of Nepal. He met major historical figures and watched tourism, and and especially mountain climbing, grow there. Peissel knew Boris personally and his book is more an "I knew him when..." narrative than a deep reconstruction of Boris's life. Now out of print, Tiger for Breakfast is one of few existing resources on what was a full and fascinating life.