Product DescriptionAn unforgettable spiritual journey through the Himalayas by renowned writer Peter Matthiessen (1927-2014)?? the National Book Award-winning author of the new novel In Paradise
In 1973?? Peter Matthiessen and field biologist George Schaller traveled high into the remote mountains of Nepal to study the Himalayan blue sheep and possibly glimpse the rare and beautiful snow leopard. Matthiessen?? a student of Zen Buddhism?? was also on a spiritual quest to find the Lama of Shey at the ancient shrine on Crystal Mountain. As the climb proceeds?? Matthiessen charts his inner path as well as his outer one?? with a deepening Buddhist un"ding of reality?? suffering?? impermanence?? and beauty. This Penguin Classics edition features an introduction by acclaimed travel writer and novelist Pico Iyer.
For more than seventy years?? Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1??700?titles?? Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the?series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors?? as well as up-to-date?translations by award-winning translators.Amazon.com ReviewIn the autumn of 1973?? the writer Peter Matthiessen set out in the company of zoologist George Schaller on a hike that would take them 250 miles into the heart of the Himalayan region of Dolpo?? "enclave of pure Tibetan culture on earth." Their voyage was in quest of one of the world's most elusive big cats?? the snow leopard of high Asia?? a creature so rarely spotted as to be nearly mythical; Schaller was one of only two Westerners known to have seen a snow leopard in the wild since 1950. Published in 1978?? The Snow Leopard is rightly regarded as a classic of modern nature writing. Guiding his readers through steep-walled canyons and over tall mountains?? Matthiessen offers a nar