The intimidating beauty of earth's highest altitudes explored in photography, with excerpts from writers throughout history

The mountain is a compelling landform both for its sheer beauty as well as the metaphorical and symbolic significance humans have always placed upon it. This volume pays tribute to the intertwined natural and cultural histories of mountain ranges all over the globe with an exploration of each continent's topography. From Asia, where the Himalayas and the Karakorum hold up "the roof of the world," to the western coast of South America where the Andes lie, Northern Alaska, the Alps and the Dolomites, the reader is accompanied on this extraordinary adventure by famous travelers. Excerpts from the works of Dante Alighieri, Jane Austen, Lord Byron, Paulo Coelho, Victor Hugo, Jeanne Moreau, John Muir, Haruki Murakami, Friedrich Nietzsche, William Shakespeare and J.R.R. Tolkien are juxtaposed with photography that depicts spectacular rock formations scattered over the entire surface of the earth.