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Book Reviews of The Snow Leopard

The Snow Leopard
The Snow Leopard
Author: Peter Matthiessen
ISBN-13: 9780143105510
ISBN-10: 0143105515
Publication Date: 9/30/2008
Pages: 368
Rating:
  • Currently 4.1/5 Stars.
 7

4.1 stars, based on 7 ratings
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Book Type: Paperback
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

11 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

reviewed The Snow Leopard on + 14 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
One of my all time favorites. Beautiful nature writing, magical setting in the Himalayas, and an amazing adventure both internally and out in the world.
briebrown avatar reviewed The Snow Leopard on + 12 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
Lovely. I acquired this book thinking it was going to be your standard adventure novel with a bit of Buddhist philosophy about not getting attached to the result and enjoying the journey. It was that and much more. Matthiessen has an acute knowledge of the area and culture and was eloquent about the dangers of spiritual materialism as well as the knowledgeable about the different religions of the region. He quotes from Sanskrit text and throws in some lovely poetry from various sages across the world. This is a book that one could use as a study guide. Love the fact that he includes end notes, just in case the reader wants a more thorough understanding of some of the old visionaries.
reviewed The Snow Leopard on + 495 more book reviews
Book that won National book Award by author of "At Play in the Fields of the Lord". A near mythic journey of self discovery.
reviewed The Snow Leopard on
Non-fiction
From the back cover:
"Across the most awesome mountains on earth, Peter Matthiessen went in search of the rare snow leopard. His dangerous trip became a pilgrimage, a luminous journey of the heart."
pindari avatar reviewed The Snow Leopard on + 38 more book reviews
I loved the beautifully written tale of adventure and exploration, I could see the sherpa's smiles, and feel the snow... it was wonderful. I didn't enjoy trying to track the expedition on the hopeless map inside the front cover - what could have been wonderful was frustrating and disappointing. I also didn't care for the extent of the authors spiritual journey. Of course one couldn't complete such a journey without much introspection, but I found the details of the various religions too extensive to follow, and my heart wasn't in it. I probably won't read this book again, but parts of it will stay with me.
reviewed The Snow Leopard on + 175 more book reviews
If you can get past the religion stuff he tosses in, the descriptors of the trip will create a picture and make you feel part of the journey. Remember when books could create the places in your mind without seeing it in a movie? This is one of those books. Of other interest is his consistent mention of the fauna and wildlife; many of which will have you scrambling for google or a dictionary. This was my interest in reading the journal. Read the one two and three star reviews over at Amazon before picking up this book. It may not be for you.
dnhowarth avatar reviewed The Snow Leopard on + 174 more book reviews
In 1973, Matthiessen and field biologist George Schaller went into the high Himalayas to study Himalayan Blue sheep and to pursue the rare Snow Leopard. One of the few studies of the Himalayas that is so well-written, you actually feel deprived and chilled as you read it. Matthiessen was one of our best nature writers.
reviewed The Snow Leopard on + 54 more book reviews
When Matthiessen went to Nepal to study the Himalayan blue sheep and, possibly, to glimpse the rare and beautiful snow leopard, he undertook his five-week trek as winter snows were sweeping into the high passes. This is a radiant and deeply moving account of a "true pilgrimage, a journey of the heart."
reviewed The Snow Leopard on + 4 more book reviews
I've read this book twice and I must say, I hated it each time. But I seem to be one of the few people I know who didn't love it, so it must be me!
reviewed The Snow Leopard on + 10 more book reviews
The Snow Leopard by Peter Matthiessen is a spiritual and physical journey about a nature author tagging along with a famous wildlife researcher, George Schaller, far past the forgotten outposts of the Himalayan mountains. Matthiessen's descriptive language made his journey so vivid and real. This book makes me want to do yoga again and give meditation a try. I skimmed over nearly all of the religious references because I had little interest in them. I think his overall theme was that life can get ridiculously complicated, but if you pare it down to its bare essentials, you find beauty, pure beauty in yourself and in the people and world around you. Live simply to find your greatest happiness.
Readnmachine avatar reviewed The Snow Leopard on + 1472 more book reviews
I struggled through about half of this before I gave up.

Matthiesen writes beautifully, even lyrically, about the glories of the high Himalayas, but in the end (or at least in the middle, since that was as far as I got), this is yet another tale about a person so disgruntled with their life that they set out on an incredibly challenging journey in the hopes of achieving enlightenment.

The very mindset of such a person eludes me, and unless the journey itself is compelling (this one isn't), I see no reason to go along, even from an armchair position.