Fabrice Midal, by steering his way between conventional Western biography and traditional Tibetan hagiography, has succeeded in painting a detailed portrait of Chgyam Trungpa, the unconventional Tibetan lama, who is regarded as one of the most influential forces in spreading Buddhism to the West. Although Trungpa appeared to be a modern teacher at first glance, he was really one of the most traditional teachers because of his radical emphasis on the source: the root practice of sitting meditation.