A wide-ranging adventure into rugged terrain.
An exploration of the history and possible future of the Himalayas.
Since the 1960s, historian and journalist Keay has been traveling to and writing about the Himalayas. Now, in his 22nd book, he offers a panoramic overview of the history, archaeology, geology, politics, religions, and cultures of the storied mountain range, highlighting the individuals who have aspired to reach its peaks, visited its sacred sites, investigated its flora and fauna, and created its vivid mythology. Among an international cast of intrepid, sometimes eccentric characters are the German polar explorer Alfred Wegener, who theorized the idea of continental drift; the flamboyant Italian Giuseppe Vincenzo Tucci, whom Keay deems the greatest Tibetologist of the 20th century; linguists and folklorists David and Emily Lorimer; and opera diva and devout Buddhist Alexandra David-Néel, whose memoir My Journey to Lhasa (1927) “offers a wealth of fantasy, anecdote and domestic detail,” including “hallucinations, divinations, mystic encounters, feats of endurance, family disputes, miracles galore and some leaden humour.” The Himalayas are a vast, young range, notes Keay. Mount Everest grows a few centimeters per year, and the area is so seismically active that it experiences an earthquake every week. “Seen from afar,” writes the author, “with the snows of their dragon’s-back skyline snagging the clouds, they epitomise permanence and eternity; but geologically speaking they are neither permanent nor eternal.” Paleontologists have discovered remains of mastodon and hippopotamus, porcupine and rat, among species that could not have survived in the current climate. Culturally and politically, the region has undergone dramatic changes as well. Leay examines the fraught conflicts that have beset much of the region: Nepal, home to 129 languages, struggling “to assert a distinct identity”; Tibet, coveted by China; and Kashmir, a Muslim-majority state in a Hindu-dominated Indian republic. Ecologically vulnerable, the region is in need of environmental safeguards—not least, against defilement from climbers’ trash. Pair this one with Ed Douglas’ Himalaya: A Human History.
A wide-ranging adventure into rugged terrain.Pub Date: Nov. 8, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-63286-943-2
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
“Protect your passion,” writes an NBA star in this winning exploration of how we can succeed in life.
A future basketball Hall of Famer’s rosy outlook.
Curry is that rare athlete who looks like he gets joy from what he does. There’s no doubt that the Golden State Warriors point guard is a competitor—he’s led his team to four championships—but he plays the game with nonchalance and exuberance. That ease, he says, “only comes from discipline.” He practices hard enough—he’s altered the sport by mastering the three-point shot—so that he achieves a “kind of freedom.” In that “flow state,” he says, “I can let joy and creativity take over. I block out all distractions, even the person guarding me. He can wave his arms and call me every name in the book, but I just smile and wait as the solution to the problem—how to get the ball into the basket—presents itself.” Curry shares this approach to his craft in a stylish collection that mixes life lessons with sharp photographs and archival images. His dad, Dell, played in the NBA for 16 years, and Curry learned much from his father and mother: “My parents were extremely strict about me and my little brother Seth not going to my pops’s games on school nights.” Curry’s mother, Sonya, who founded the Montessori elementary school that Curry attended in North Carolina, emphasized the importance not just of learning but of playing. Her influence helped Curry and his wife, Ayesha, create a nonprofit foundation: Eat. Learn. Play. He writes that “making reading fun is the key to unlocking a kid’s ability to be successful in their academic journeys.” The book also has valuable pointers for ballers—and those hoping to hit the court. “Plant those arches—knees bent behind those 10 toes pointing at the hoop, hips squared with your shoulders—and draw your power up so you explode off the ground and rise into your shot.” Sounds easy, right?
“Protect your passion,” writes an NBA star in this winning exploration of how we can succeed in life.Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2025
ISBN: 9780593597293
Page Count: 432
Publisher: One World/Random House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An ebullient nature lover’s paean to birds.
A charming bird journey with the bestselling author.
In his introduction to Tan’s “nature journal,” David Allen Sibley, the acclaimed ornithologist, nails the spirit of this book: a “collection of delightfully quirky, thoughtful, and personal observations of birds in sketches and words.” For years, Tan has looked out on her California backyard “paradise”—oaks, periwinkle vines, birch, Japanese maple, fuchsia shrubs—observing more than 60 species of birds, and she fashions her findings into delightful and approachable journal excerpts, accompanied by her gorgeous color sketches. As the entries—“a record of my life”—move along, the author becomes more adept at identifying and capturing them with words and pencils. Her first entry is September 16, 2017: Shortly after putting up hummingbird feeders, one of the tiny, delicate creatures landed on her hand and fed. “We have a relationship,” she writes. “I am in love.” By August 2018, her backyard “has become a menagerie of fledglings…all learning to fly.” Day by day, she has continued to learn more about the birds, their activities, and how she should relate to them; she also admits mistakes when they occur. In December 2018, she was excited to observe a Townsend’s Warbler—“Omigod! It’s looking at me. Displeased expression.” Battling pesky squirrels, Tan deployed Hot Pepper Suet to keep them away, and she deterred crows by hanging a fake one upside down. The author also declared war on outdoor cats when she learned they kill more than 1 billion birds per year. In May 2019, she notes that she spends $250 per month on beetle larvae. In June 2019, she confesses “spending more hours a day staring at birds than writing. How can I not?” Her last entry, on December 15, 2022, celebrates when an eating bird pauses, “looks and acknowledges I am there.”
An ebullient nature lover’s paean to birds.Pub Date: April 23, 2024
ISBN: 9780593536131
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
