Among Flowers, A Walk in the Himalaya  •  Jamaica Kincaid TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2007 •  PAPER  • 208 PAGES An atmospheric account of celebrated writer and gardener Jamaica Kincaid's journey to Nepal and the Himalayas with a small team of botanists. A volume in the National Geographic Directions series. (HML62, $10.95)
Everest, Expedition to the Ultimate  •  Reinhold Messner  •  Audrey Salkeld EXPLORATION •  1999 •  PAPER  • 288 PAGES In 1978, Messner and Peter Habler climbed Everest without using supplemental oxygen. This is Messner's frank account of their very difficult -- but ultimately successful -- climb. (HML49, $24.95)
Everest, The Mountaineers Anthology IV  •  Peter Potterfield EXPLORATION •  2003 •  PAPER  • 240 PAGES A collection of eyewitness accounts by Greg Mallory and Sandy Irvine, Edmund Hillary, Tom Hornbein, Jim Whittaker, Frank Smythe, Eric Simonson, Reinhold Messner, and many other climbers over the decades. Published in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the first ascent. Pottersfield is publisher of mountainzone.com (NPL49, $16.95)
A Field Guide to the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent  •  Krys Kazmierczak  •  Ber Van Perlo FIELD GUIDE •  1999 •  HARD COVER  • 352 PAGES A compact field guide to 1,300 species with 96 color plates by bird artist Ber van Perlo, covering Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. With distribution maps and concise information on identification, voice and habitat by the author of "A Birdwatcher's Guide to India." (FG40, $45.00)
Glacier Ice  •  Austin Post  •  Edward R. LaChapelle NATURAL HISTORY •  2000 •  PAPER  • 145 PAGES An extraordinary book of aerial photographs of mountains, glaciers and ice accompanied by explanatory text by two devoted glaciologists. Much too beautiful to be called a textbook, this collection of striking black-and-white photographs introduces the major surface features, varieties of glaciers and diversity of ice. With a glossary and annotated bibliography for further reading. An obvious choice for mountaineers and polar explorers, this book will appeal to any curious traveler -- or even anyone who has ever looked out the window of an airplane en route over Greenland. In cooperation with the International Glaciological Society. A modern classic, originally published in 1971. (SCI07, $35.00)
Himalaya  •  Eric Valli  •  Anne de Sales CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2004 •  HARD COVER  • 432 PAGES A handsome collection of breathtaking photographs of the landscape and people of the Himalayas. (HML64, $50.00)
Himalayan Quest, Ed Viesturs on the 8,000-Meter Giants  •  Ed Viesturs EXPLORATION •  2003 •  HARD COVER  • 176 PAGES In 1986, Austrian Reinhold Messner became the first man to scale all 14 peaks which stand above 8,000 meters, all of which are located in the Himalayas. Seventeen years later, Ed Viesturs became the first American to accomplish this daunting feat. This appealing photographic guide chronicles Viestur's journey, complete with breathtaking images of the Himalayan landscape (made more impressive when one imagines how difficult it must have been to take them while climbing!) as well as informative maps of the region. (HML63, $32.00)
Mountaineering, The Freedom of the Hills  •  The Mountaineers GUIDEBOOK •  2003 •  PAPER  • 528 PAGES The essential handbook for mountaineers, in a seventh revised edition. With chapters on outdoor fundamentals, rock, snow, ice, and alpine climbing, emergency prevention and response, the mountain environment, and gear. (GEN267, $29.95)
South Asia  •  Sumit Ganguly HISTORY •  2006 •  PAPER  • 256 PAGES A scholarly history of modern South Asia, including India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. Sumit Ganguly is the Rabindranath Tagore Professor of Indian cultures and civilizations and professor of political science at Indiana University. (IDA308, $18.00)
Surviving Everest (VHS)  •  National Geographic 2003 •  NTSC VIDEO A celebration of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay by National Geographic. The documentary details the many triumphs and disasters that have occurred on Mt. Everest, including original 1953 footage and a 1984 tribute. A DVD version is also available (HML58). (HML57, $19.95)
Tales of Mountaineering  •  Stefano Ardito EXPLORATION •  2007 •  HARD COVER  • 320 PAGES An oversize photographic history of the great ascents and climbers in 20th-century mountaineering. (EXP51, $35.00)
The Wheel of Life, The Autobiography of a Western Buddhist  •  John Blofeld TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  1988 •  PAPER  • 316 PAGES Blofeld's (1913-1987) enchanting account of Buddhist worlds now largely vanished, including his life and travels in China, Tibet, Mongolia, India and Burma. He describes the worlds of remote mountain monasteries, sacred chambers of lamas and yogis, and the everyday lives of ordinary people. Originally published in 1959. (HML76, $30.00)
A Woman's Asia  •  Marybeth Bond ANTHOLOGY •  2005 •  PAPER  • 310 PAGES These thirty-five personal, often hilarious accounts of women's adventures from China to Sri Lanka to Turkey to Bhutan, not only illuminating the everyday, oft-overlooked cultural practices of Asia, but also giving a glimpse into the thoughts and feelings of the female traveller. Featuring selections from Jan Morris, Pamela Logan and Alison Wright. (ASA49, $17.95)