Around the World in 22 Books
The Snow Leopard by
Peter Matthiessen
First published in 1978.
This edition by Vintage.
In this wonderfully evocative book, the
writer describes his long trek to the Himalayan region of Dolpo to study
the wild blue sheep there and to hopefully catch sight of the elusive
snow leopard - a creature so rarely spotted as to be nearly mythical.
The arduous search for the snow leopard becomes a metaphor for Matthiessen's
own inner quest for spiritual enlightenment. The resulting book is a masterful
depiction of the landscapes, peoples, and systems of belief in the Himalayas.
