The Snow Leopard (Penguin Classics) [Paperback]

Peter Matthiessen (Author), Pico Iyer (Introduction)

Book Description

Release date: September 30, 2008 | Series: Penguin Classics

An unforgettable spiritual journey through the Himalayas? now celebrating its thirtieth anniversary

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 Z en 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 understanding of reality, suffering, impermanence, and beauty.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In 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, "the last 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 narrative that is shot through with metaphor and mysticism, and his arduous search for the snow leopard becomes a vehicle for reflections on all manner of matters of life and death. In the process, The Snow Leopard evolves from an already exquisite book of natural history and travel into a grand, Buddhist-tinged parable of our search for meaning. By the end of their expedition, having seen wolves, foxes, rare mountain sheep, and other denizens of the Himalayas, and having seen many signs of the snow leopard but not the cat itself, Schaller muses, "We've seen so much, maybe it's better if there are some things that we don't see."

That sentiment, as well as the sense of wonder at the world's beauty that pervades Matthiessen's book, ought to inform any journey into the wild. --Gregory McNamee --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"A beautiful book, and worthy of the mountains he is among" -- Paul Theroux "What began as a practical search for the rare snow leopard, revered Buddhist emblem, developed into a quest for the meaning of Being. An enjoyable combination of mountaineering and mysticism" Observer "It's a tale of an inner struggle for calm, and would be an inspiring and sustaining desert island companion" -- Emily Barr "As much the chronicle of an inner journey as it is the learned recording of an unfamiliar territory...a timeless account" Independent "An evocative account of a remote and timeless place and its people" Sunday Times --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics; Revised edition (September 30, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0143105515
• ISBN-13: 978-0143105510
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (88 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #44,935 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #21 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Biological Sciences > Animals > Mammals
  • #58 in Books > Science & Math > Nature & Ecology > Essays

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

94 of 97 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars No Title of Mine is Adequate December 27, 2004

By Wayne A. Robinson

Format:Mass Market Paperback

I read this book the first time back in the 70s, shortly after it was published. I've re-read it every two years or so since then. As in reading any number of times lines from Shakespeare, I never tire of their inherent beauty; my heart soars again and again re-reading Mattheissen's lines of ice-like clarity.

The book on one level is a extraordinary travel documentary, describing brilliantly one man's experiences during a trip into a recently opened area in Himilayan Nepal. On a profoundly different level, the book also is a diary of his journey into his own heart and soul, one, perhaps, calling for more true bravery than any mere physical experience.

There are many moments of exquisite beauty and intimacy that have left me sobbing, longing to be on the journey with Matthiessen and his travel companions.

Matthiessen is an Everyman, seeking he really knows not what, searching for what may only be the quest itself. Perhaps he and his fellow Buddhists have the answer: their goal is ultimate acceptance of what each moment brings us, not wanting or desiring anything but what is now.

In closing, if one is looking for some answers to how to live a good life, without being told what to do and not to do, I find that this book is a far more useful guide to being a human being than any religious text that I know.

By all means, even if you think you have all the answers, buy this book.

Wayne Robinson

51 of 52 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Spectacular book September 10, 1999

By Seth J. Hettena

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Spare, lyrical and honest, the Snow Leopard lifts the reader's mind to the high deserts of Nepal. Reading it is almost like spending an afternoon in quiet contemplation. I've read several books that deal with Zen and what makes this book work is that the author is unflinchingly honest about the internal journey that is at the heart of the book. He shares with the reader the mental baggage he brings with him, and that makes the external journey -- described in vivid detail -- seem all the more real. I can understand why other reviewers say they went to Nepal after reading it.

45 of 48 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars ...in the footprints of the Himalayan leopard March 7, 2002

By Doug Anderson VINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback

A naturalist & Buddhist and adventurer extraordinaire Matthiessen met his traveling companion in 1969 on the Serengeti plain in East Africa. This newfound friend, George Schaller, later asks him if he wants to join him on his next trip to Nepal to study the bharal or Himalayan blue sheep. So late in 1973 the two set out on a journey to the Crystal Mountain that takes them west under Annapurna and north around the Dhaulagiri peaks and across the Kanjiroba to the land of Dolpo, on the Tibetan Plateau.
This is a very literate and philosophic quest ripe with quotes from Lamas and Rilke and Ovid:
Just as a white summer cloud, in harmony with heaven and earth freely floats in the blue sky from horizon to horizon following the breath of the atmosphere-in the same way the pilgrim abandons himself to the breath of the greater life that...leads him beyond the farthest horizons to an aim which is already present within him, though yet hidden from his sight.-Lama Govinda
Spiritual but in an earthy way, an approprate response to Nepal. The Tibetan culture is fascinating to seeker and secular journeyman alike. The country itself comes to life in this book and that is to be expected from Matthiessen who is a world renowned naturalist. What makes the book stand apart form all others like it is Matthiessen who is a much more nuanced character than your average adventurer and the resulting narrative is a many layered and often exalted one. I suppose as a writer he reminds me of that other great American naturalist Henry David Thoreau whose work also operates on many planes at once not the least of which is the earthen one. Matthiessen comes alive once he is beyond the reach of his own temporal civilization and among the timeless elements of the earth under skies where no planes ever appear and no rescue is forthcoming should anything go wrong. A book that continues to enthrall with its stunning imagery and insight and it shines even more on repeat readings, a shrine to the mountainous east.