Stones of Silence; The Snow Leopard

Stones of Silence by George B. Shaller 320 pages. For those of you who don't follow Zoologists much, George Shaller is the man! Cannot believe this guy's career.' One of the toughest mountain men I've read. This is a collection of almost personal diary type writings of his travels through many parts of the Himalayas studying sheep ...and by the by, becoming one of the first westerners to see a snow leopard. It fits in with its more popular counterpart and companion for just one of Shaller's journeys, see below:

The Snow Leopard by Peter Matthiessen (1978), 352 pages... "A classic of modern nature writing" pretty much sums it up. Its so very personal and heart felt impressions of the Himalaya. The author's soul searching and the incredible wildlife to be found in the 1970s make it a real experience. My second time reading it was better than the first... so I guess "classic" fits.

Oh yea, you can find all kinds of Zen books by Matthiessen. Before we left, I read: At Play in the Fields of the Lord which won the National Book Award in 1996; another really good novel. So this author masters both fiction, non-fiction. Impressive!

/mwf