London, Century, 1984, 1st UK edition. 248 pp, b/w and color photos and maps. Large format hardcover with dust jacket. Fine.
Complete history of exploration, mapping and climbing in the Himalaya, Karakoram, Hindu Kush, Tian Shan, Kun Lun and Pamirs.
This book about the Himalayas and other mountain groups of Central Asia was published in association with the Royal Geographical Society, Hammond Innes penned the foreword. The Himalaya Range is internationally famed, lesser known are its associated mountain groups, the Pamirs, Hindu Kush, Karakoram, Kun Lun and Tien Shan all with their own magnificent peaks. In this excellent book Cameron tells of the geological conditions that formed the ranges over millions of years, exploration in the mountains before the Birth of Christ, of the strategic importance of the mountains to generals and despots throughout history and how they have, in more modern times, become the measure by which mountaineering success is gauged.
The author also tells of trade routs crossing the ranges, explorers, scientists and even spies. This excellent book reveals much that is new about these age-old mountains. Apart from its polished text, the illustrations, many in color, are outstanding, with the archives of the Royal Geographical Society providing a large number.
