To date, Cyrus Stearns' present volume offers the most comprehensive look on Tangtong Gyalpo (1361?-1485) and his achievements. His activity was coeval with the mostly beneficial rule under the first eight Pakmodrupa ('Sow Ferrian') priest-kings in Central Tibet. The backbone of the book is a full translation of one of the great adept's (drubchen) hagiographies (completed in 1609), bearing the short title "The (New) Jewel Mirror in which All is Clear" (sp. Kun gSal Nor-bu'i Me-long gSar-pa), which was written by a descendant of his named lochen ('great translator') Gyurmé Dechen. Complementary material is gleaned from two earlier biographies composed by Tangtong Gyalpo's disciples: Sherab Palden's "Ocean of Marvels" (NGo-mTSHar rGya-mTSHo) and "Bright Lamp" (gSal-ba'i sGron-me) by Könchok Palsang and Dewa Sangpo.His main contributions on the physical plane were the construction of 58 iron-suspension bridges, hence one of his many epithets "Iron-Bridge Man" (Chaksampa); 118 large ferries and boats; 60 wooden bridges; 120 assembly halls and temples; sacred 18-inch-tall images/statues utilizing gold-/silversmith technique never applied to precious materials like turquoise, conch shell, coral, lapis lazuli, amber before (pp. 304-7); 111 stúpas (the grandest one still stands at his monastery of Riwoché in Latö Jang) built at geomantic focal-points to avert earthquakes or to stop Mongol raids in far western Tibet in the 1440-50s, etc.In search of iron he travelled to Kongpo and the region that later, from 1616 onward, became known as Bhutan, where he set up smitheries and worked together with local blacksmiths."Chemical analysis made in 1970 of a chain link from one of Tangtong Gyalpo's Bhutanese bridges showed that the chains are actually steel composed of a remarkably high percentage of iron. According to one scientific opinion, the chain was manufactured by oxidizing the iron in a dough-like state, which was the only steel-manufacturing method known when high temperatures capable of smelting steel were still unattainable. It is apparently the unusually high content of arsenic in steel that has kept the chains from corroding over the last 550 years...According to [Dezhung] Rinpoché [1906-87], the original bridges that Tantong built can be distinguished from the latter ones by the small vajras that he stamped on each link of the chains" (p. 48).In pursuit of Buddhist teachings he also went to the Kathmandu Valley, paid visit to the power-places of India, and perhaps to those of Ceylon, in the 1390-1400s. The great adept embarked on arduous journeys with the aim to proselytize the animistic tribesmen of Lo (kLo) in what today is Arunachal Pradesh (NE India) in cca. 1428-9 (pp. 234-9), while similar attempts in the Hindu kingdom of Kámata (Cooch Bihar in NE Bengal + the westernmost part of Assam) brought only temporary success.We can also get a glimpse of the social dynamics of 14-15th century Tibet, as in time of need Tantong Gyalpo proved to be an able organizer, for instance, when he collected gold to buy barley for the starving people of ÜTsang in 1437 (pp. 282-6).As for his place in Tibetan Buddhism, Tangtong Gyalpo was a nonsectarian (Ris-med-pa) lineage-holder of countless transmissions, the mental emanation of Padmasambhava and as such a treasure-discoverer (tertön) who opened the gates to hidden lands (beyül). His extended lifespan was partly due to the longevity (tsedrub) practices known as the "Iron-Tree" (lCags sDong, which belongs in the Northern Treasure/Jangter tradition of the Nyingma fold) and "The Glorious Giver of Immortality" ('CHi-med dPal sTer - his own treasure-discovery).On numerous occasions, however, Tangtong Gyalpo exhibited the trademarks of a 'crazy adept' (drubnyön) indulging in eccentric "deliberate behaviour" (brTul-ZHugs sPyod-pa; see pp. 59-62) to heighten awareness and inspire faith in others. The following episode is meant to illustrate this: It so happened that some Gyeré people mistook the Iron-Bridge Man for one of their Minyak enemies, and attacked him with various weapons. To their surprise, they were unable to elicit any reaction whatsoever from the beleaguered yogin who was experiencing "the equal taste of pleasure and pain." The assailants tied a rock to Tangtong's penis and left him hanging on a fence for the night. Next morning, the Gyeré having realized their sins, made confessions, to which the crazy adept's response was, "It was a profound practice for longevity" (p. 250, also pp. 69-70).Exhaustive endnotes (pp. 465-586), bibliography of Tibetan and Western sources (pp. 587-614), a very detailed index (615-82), plus lots of selected illustrations enrich the book.