Description

Empires, explorers and sacred summits – an epic story of the roof of the world.

In Himalaya, award-winning writer and climber Ed Douglas traces the intertwined histories of the mountains and their people. From Buddhist pilgrims and imperial explorers to mountaineers and freedom fighters, he reveals how these peaks have shaped spirituality, science and geopolitics for millennia.

Drawing on years of travel and meticulous research, Douglas combines geography, biography and adventure into a sweeping narrative of conflict, resilience and wonder across the most dramatic landscape on Earth.

‘Magnificent… unlikely to be surpassed’ Telegraph
‘A magisterial account of the complex human history of the Himalaya’ The Times

Publisher Review

Magnificent ... a far-reaching, compendious and elegantly turned examination of a region and its peoples, this book is unlikely to be surpassed * Telegraph * A magisterial account of the complex human history of the greatest mountains on Earth ... fascinating ... scrupulously and movingly detail[ed] ... Douglas weaves a far richer tapestry, showing how this is a sacred landscape influenced by very worldly concerns * The Times * A panoramic history of the region ... Such a complex range of subjects is not easy to press into a coherent narrative ... Douglas ... does so with extraordinary aplomb ... rigorous and informative ... highly readable ... never lacking freshness and rich in compelling detail * Literary Review * A scholarly yet entertaining synthesis of hundreds of years of history ... [Douglas] portrays not only nuns and monks but also courtesans, mountaineers, kings, horse-traders, tea merchants, spies, architects, botanists, soldiers and politicians from Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet, Sikkim, China and India - as well as from Britain, the British Raj, American, Russia and continental Europe ... a labour of love twenty-five years in the making * Financial Times * In the suitably immense Himalaya, Ed Douglas logs the achievements and travails from Paleolithic times to the present day of the peoples who have laboured in and around Asia's mountain spine ... enlivening Himalaya's history with a host of minor characters ... Such unsung endeavours are a delight ... The research is impressive ... always authoritative ... Anyone with a serious interest in the Himalayan region will want to buy it and will find it invaluable * Times Literary Supplement *