Synopses & Reviews
Keepers of legend and witness to nature's greatest movement, mountains are regarded with awe and admiration by every culture that has these staggering wonders in its midst. In this stunning book, a geologist and a nature photographer provide a tour of the world's most spectacular mountain ranges, revealing their fascinating scientific origins and tracing their natural histories. Studying closely the young mountains found in the Himalayas and Andes ranges, and explaining how ranges like the Rockies are dying, the book's incisive text reveals the secrets of a mountain's birth, its endurance against erosive elements, and its march towards an inevitable demise. Illustrated throughout with breathtaking photographs, Mountains shows how the living earth creates these natural wonders.
About the Author
Paul Tapponnier is a professor of physics and a director of the tectonics laboratory at the Institut de Physique du Globe in Paris. In 2005, he was the only French scientist to become a member of the National Academy of Sciences in the U.S. He lives in Paris.Photographer and author Kevin Kling is a member of both the Royal Geographical Society of London and the U.S. Society of Women Geographers. He lives in Paris.