Margins
When Men and Mountains Meet book cover
When Men and Mountains Meet
1977
First Published
3.93
Average Rating
288
Number of Pages

The majestic and sublime Himalayas have long exerted a powerful force on the imaginations of explorers and travelers. Indeed, as a challenge for these adventurous souls, the mountain wilderness that separates the Indian subcontinent from Inner Asia is no similar region has ever aroused such intense interest. When Men and Mountains Meet, a book based largely on out-of-print and archival material, is the first narrative account of the early exploration of this incomparable part of the world. The difficulty of exploration was not only natural (though the terrain, of course, is the most formidable on earth), but man-made as the Himalayas, then as now, are strategic and political boundaries of great importance. Consequently, independent travelers were discouraged from expeditions, while official travelers operated behind a dense screen of secrecy. Yet despite these obstacles, between 1820 and 1875 the Western Himalayas were explored by a number of extraordinary characters. In these pages we meet some of the most intrepid explorers of all the American adventurer Alexander Gardiner; Joseph Wolff, who earned the sobriquet of "mad missionary"; Thomas Thomson the Scottish naturalist; Moorcroft, whose exploits have since become legendary in the region; and the dogged surveyor Godwin. All fully lived up to their magnificent setting, and all are once again brought to life in this compelling saga of humankind versus nature.

Avg Rating
3.93
Number of Ratings
40
5 STARS
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4 STARS
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3 STARS
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2 STARS
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1 STARS
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goodreads

Author

John Keay
John Keay
Author · 16 books

John Stanley Melville Keay FRGS is an English journalist and author specialising in writing popular histories about India and the Far East, often with a particular focus on their colonisation and exploration by Europeans. John Keay is the author of about 20 books, all factual, mostly historical, and largely to do with Asia, exploration or Scotland. His first book stayed in print for thirty years; many others have become classics. His combination of meticulous research, irreverent wit, powerful narrative and lively prose have invariably been complimented by both reviewers and readers. UK-based and a full-time author since 1973, he also wrote and presented over 100 documentaries for BBC Radios 3 and 4 from 1975-95 and guest-lectured tour groups 1990-2000. He reviews on related subjects, occasionally speaks on them, and travels extensively.

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