White Mountain

A Cultural Adventure Through the Himalayas

Robert Twigger

A sweeping biography of the Himalayas by the acclaimed author of Angry White Pyjamas.

Home to mythical kingdoms, wars and expeditions, and strange and magical beasts, the Himalayas have always loomed tall in our imagination. These mountains, home to Buddhists, Bonpos, Jains, Muslims, Hindus, shamans and animists, to name only a few, are a place of pilgrimage and dreams, revelation and war, massacre and invasion, but also peace and unutterable calm. They are a central hub of the world’s religion, as well as a climber’s challenge and a traveler’s dream.

In an exploration of the region's seismic history, Robert Twigger, author of Red Nile and Angry White Pyjamas, unravels some of these seemingly disparate journeys and the unexpected links between them. Following a winding path across the Himalayas to its physical end in Nagaland on the Indian-Burmese border, Twigger encounters incredible stories from a unique cast of mountaineers and mystics, pundits and prophets. The result is a sweeping, enthralling and surprising journey through the history of the world's greatest mountain range.

Robert Twigger is a British author, poet and adventurer. He attended Oxford University and has been awarded the Newdigate Prize for poetry, the Somerset Maugham Award for Literature and the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award. He led the expedition that was the first to cross the Great Sand Sea of the Egyptian Sahara solely on foot, and another that was the first to cross Western Canada in a birchbark canoe since 1793. He is the author of nine books, both fiction and non-fiction.  Visit him at www.roberttwigger.com

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Endorsements & Reviews

"This is an enchanting book that readers will not be able to put down, and when they are finished they will ask why it wasn’t longer. Will be of great interest to those looking for books on travel, history, and culture of the Himalayas, India, and the region. Highly recommended." Library Journal (starred)

"A sprawling, panoramic chronicle of history and adventure. A colorful, entertaining journey with a voluble guide." Kirkus Reviews

"On a quest to understand the geographic and cultural significance of the Himalayas, British author and adventurer Twigger weaves the stories of mountaineers and mystics, Buddhists and biologists, with an account of his own trek across the legendary mountain range." Publishers Weekly

"Robert Twigger, a British poet and adventurer, explores the Himalayas from all angles—spiritual, geologic, political, and historical. The result is a sprawling 480-page exposition of the world’s greatest mountain range." Outside