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A fascinating exploration of the symbolism of mountains in the mythologies, religions, literature, and art of cultures around the world.
List of contents
Part I. Sacred Mountains around the World: 1. The Himalayas: Abode of the sacred; 2. China: Mountains of the middle kingdom; 3. Central Asia: The distant ranges; 4. Japan: Mountains of the rising sun; 5. South and southeast Asia: Cosmic centers; 6. The Middle East: Heights of revelation; 7. Europe: Paradigms of perfection; 8. Africa: Facing the heights; 9. North America: The high and the beautiful; 10. Latin America: Mountains of vanished empires; 11. Oceania: Islands of the sky; Part II. The Power and Mystery of Mountains: 12. The symbolism of sacred mountains; 13. Mountains and the sacred in literature and art; 14. The spiritual dimensions of mountaineering; 15. Sacred mountains, the environment, and everyday life.
About the author
Edwin Bernbaum is a mountaineer and scholar of comparative religion and mythology whose work focuses on the relationship between culture and nature. The first edition of Sacred Mountains of the World won the Commonwealth Club of California's gold medal for nonfiction and the Giuseppe Mazzotti Special Jury Prize in Italy for literature of mountains, exploration and ecology, as well as being shortlisted for the Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountaineering Literature in the United Kingdom. His book The Way to Shambhala on Tibetan myths and legends of sacred hidden valleys was originally published by Anchor Doubleday in 1980. He holds an A.B. from Harvard College and a Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley.
Summary
Drawing on Edwin Bernbaum's extensive research and personal experience as a scholar and climber, this book takes the reader on a fascinating journey exploring the symbolism of mountains in the mythologies, religions, history, literature, and art of cultures around the world, along with implications for environmental conservation.
