The Snow Leopard

Author:   Peter Matthiessen
Publisher:   Vintage Publishing
ISBN:  

9780099771111


Pages:   336
Publication Date:   22 January 1998
Format:   Paperback
Availability:   In stock   Availability explained
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The Snow Leopard


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Full Product Details

Author:   Peter Matthiessen
Publisher:   Vintage Publishing
Imprint:   Vintage Classics
Dimensions:   Width: 12.90cm , Height: 2.00cm , Length: 19.80cm
Weight:   0.234kg
ISBN:  

9780099771111


ISBN 10:   009977111
Pages:   336
Publication Date:   22 January 1998
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In stock   Availability explained
We have confirmation that this item is in stock with the supplier. It will be ordered in for you and dispatched immediately.

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Reviews

A beautiful book, and worthy of the mountains he is among -- Paul Theroux What began as a practical search for the rare snow leopard, revered Buddhist emblem, developed into a quest for the meaning of Being. An enjoyable combination of mountaineering and mysticism Observer It's a tale of an inner struggle for calm, and would be an inspiring and sustaining desert island companion -- Emily Barr As much the chronicle of an inner journey as it is the learned recording of an unfamiliar territory...a timeless account Independent An evocative account of a remote and timeless place and its people Sunday Times


An evocative account of a remote and timeless place and its people * Sunday Times * As much the chronicle of an inner journey as it is the learned recording of an unfamiliar territory...a timeless account * Independent * It's a tale of an inner struggle for calm, and would be an inspiring and sustaining desert island companion -- Emily Barr What began as a practical search for the rare snow leopard, revered Buddhist emblem, developed into a quest for the meaning of Being. An enjoyable combination of mountaineering and mysticism * Observer * A beautiful book, and worthy of the mountains he is among -- Paul Theroux


They started from Kathmandu, Nepal, in September 1973: Peter Matthiessen, writer/naturalist and Zen Buddhist, on a pilgrimage to the Lama of Shey, and George Schaller, field biologist, in search of bharal, Himalayan blue sheep, in rut. In one day's walk we are a century away, crossing a landscape suffused with transparent silver light, and before long thoughts of sighting the rare snow leopard (bharal-he, or bharal killer) or the yeti (abominable snowman) are contemplated. Matthiessen has his tumpline fastened securely around this two-month, 250 mile trek with steadfast Sherpas, grumbling porters, and the occasional trail face. His numinous journal is a study in contrasts: Matthiessen himself, mood-sensitive and hungry for myth vs. Schaller the scientist, impatient and unassailable; these two eager sahibs vs. the restive carriers; Matthiessen the convert, fastidious in his Buddhism vs. Tutken the puzzling native, alleged thief and scoundrel, incomparable cook and companion. Matthiessen, who loves the common miracles, gathers the reader into his Buddhist consciousness, alternating explanations of prayer wheels or passed symbols with ruminations of life back home: years of drug experimentation, a wife's death to cancer, a young son left with friends. GS tends to insulate himself, coolly squeezing along a flimsy rock ledge with no handholds and calling it interesting. But he can also exult over his onanistic sheep ( Oh, there's a penis-lick! A beauty! ) and, unobtrusively, write haiku on the trail. The preeminent field biologist gets his data and learns to anticipate leopard scat; Matthiessen finds his holy place, but contentment is more precarious. When the leopard ultimately eludes them, GS uncharacteristically turns philosophical: That was the haiku writer speaking, Matthiessen suggests. But he too transforms the letdown into a religious bonus, and the resolution rings true. (Kirkus Reviews)


The story of Matthiessen's trek in Nepal with the zoo-ologist George Schaller in search of the elusive snow leopard. Matthiessen brings to his narrative the sensibilities of the novelist, exploring the nature of faith and love. His journey is a spiritual odyssey and the leopard inevitably becomes a metaphor for revelation. But the joy of this book is his radiant descriptions of the physical world, of the stunning mountain landscapes of Inner Dolpo in northwest Nepal. Matthiessen wrestles with the mysteries of Tibetan Buddhism and with his grief at the recent death of his wife, but it is the mountains themselves who are the centrepiece of his narrative, and this beautiful book, as Paul Theroux has said, is worthy of them. (Kirkus UK)


A beautiful book, and worthy of the mountains he is among What began as a practical search for the rare snow leopard, revered Buddhist emblem, developed into a quest for the meaning of Being. An enjoyable combination of mountaineering and mysticism Observer It's a tale of an inner struggle for calm, and would be an inspiring and sustaining desert island companion As much the chronicle of an inner journey as it is the learned recording of an unfamiliar territory...a timeless account Independent An evocative account of a remote and timeless place and its people Sunday Times A magical book: a kind of lunar paradigm and map of the sacred-The book has transcended the usual limits of language Nation


Author Information

Peter Matthiessen was a naturalist, explorer and writer. His works of fiction include At Play in the Fields of the Lord, Far Tortuga and the acclaimed 'Watson Trilogy'. His explorations resulted in many fine works of non-fiction, among them The Snow Leopard, The Cloud Forest and The Tree where Man was Born. He died in 2014, aged 86.

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