- 6 x 9.
- 356pp.
- 22 drawings, 1 map, 36 color photographs.
- Paper
- 2000
- Available
- 978-0-472-08669-6
Add to Cart
- $37.95 U.S.
Nicholas and Nina Shoumatoff and eight explorer friends open to the reader a unique, panoramic view of a remote fastness—the high mountain world in the heart of Asia. Available for the first time in English are writings of Vladimir Ratzek, who discovered the second highest peak in the USSR, Anatoly Ovtchinnikov, who was the first to ascend the South Wall of the Peak of Communism, and Omir Agakhanyantz, who has traveled and worked throughout the High Pamir for more than thirty years.
As the authors range Around the Roof of the World they write of Western Tibet, of Hunza, of Kokhistan, of the Chang Tang, of the vast Fedchenko Glacier. They pause to contemplate places of natural grandeur, diverse ecologies, ancient culture, and geopolitical significance. Their first-hand accounts are illustrated with photographs and paintings of spectacular landscapes, rich natural life, and remote peoples. Through prolonged association with intimate ways of life among the high-altitude villagers and nomads of the Kyrghyz, Kalmuck, Tajik, Kashmiri, Ladakhi, and pastoral Tibetan tribes, they describe the local customs of family and pastoral life, tent architecture, native crafts, hospitality, courtship, religion, celebration, games, sports, and bazaars. The compelling essays tell of a four-hundred-mile walk across Tajikistan, about early relics of Central Asian art, about the discovery of Victory Peak, about the nomadic peoples, and about the rocks, plants, and animals on the worlds highest mountains.
For all who dream of travel in remote places, who are drawn to mountaineering, and who are fascinated by the Heart of Asia, Nicholas and Nina Shoumatoff have provided a rich feast.