Himalaya: Personal Stories of Grandeur, Challenge, and Hope ed. by Richard C. Blum, Erica Stone, Broughton Coburn (review)

3 1 6 W e s t e r n A m e r ic a n L it e r a t u r e F a l l 2 0 0 7 Himalaya: Personal Stories of Qrandeur, Challenge, and Hope. Edited by Richard C. Blum, Erica Stone, and Broughton Coburn. W ashington, D C : N atio n al G eograph ic So ciety and th e A m erican H im alayan Foundation, 2006. 255 pages, $35.00. Reviewed by Mikel Vause W eber State University, O gden, U tah From time to time one runs across a book that sparkles like a precious stone, one that draws the eye and captures the mind. Himalaya: Personal Stories of Grandeur, Challenge, and Hope is just such a book. The essays in this collection cover a variety of mountain-related topics with its focus on the Himalaya, yet the messages transcend any specific geographical setting and apply to and call for reverence, respect, and protection of all earth’s wild places. The foreword by His Holiness The Dalai Lama provides a relio-cultural history of the peoples of the Himalaya, beginning with this insight: “I am very wary of idealizing old ways of living, because there is much that is commend­ able in the modem world. However, the clear challenge that faces us, whether we live in the developed or developing world, is to discover how we can enjoy the same degree of harmony and tranquility that we find in traditional commu­ nities, while benefiting fully from modem material developments” (14). This passage sets the theme for this anthology and its goal of pointing the way for sustainability in a global sense. What makes this anthology unusual is that all the essays are strong and insightful. The reader is treated to many divergent points of view covering a variety of topics, all of import, that work to pull the reader into an active participation with the writer and the text. One cannot help but be inspired by the accounts of great mountaineer/explorers such as Charles Houston, Jim Whittaker, Brent Bishop, Conrad Anker, Maurice Herzog, and most certainly Sir Edmund Hillary. The voices of Himalayan natives such as Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche, Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari, Norbu Tenzing, and Ang Rita Sherpa provide the western world an understanding of what it is to exist on a daily basis at the foot of the world’s highest and most dangerous landscape. Another strength of this collection is having the native perspective juxta­ posed with insights of western visitors, many of whom have chosen to spend a good part of their lives in and around the Himalayas, for example, Broughton Cobum, Peter Hillary, George B. Schalleer, and Stan Armington. Through their writings and photographs the peace and harmony, as well as the difficulty and sorrow, of this isolated part of the world is presented to many who will never actually see it firsthand. The epilogue is, fittingly, by Sir Edmund Hillary, who with his Sherpa, Tenzing Norgay, became the first to reach the summit of Mt. Everest and who has dedicated his life to building schools and clinics for the peoples of the Himalaya. While reaching the top of the world was a milestone in his life, it b o o k R e v ie w s 3 1 7 is not the high point: “I have been fortunate enough to be involved in many exciting adventures. But when I look back over my life, I have little doubt that the most worthwhile things I have done have not been standing on the sum­ mits of mountains or at the North and South poles, great experiences though they were. My most important projects have been the building and maintain­ ing of schools and medical clinics for my good friends in the Himalaya. ... These are things I will always remember” (247). To everyone who breaks open Himalaya: Personal Stories of Grandeur, Challenge, and Hope, this is a call to action for personal involvement in worthy causes that will lead to making the world a place of harmony and peace. Crazy Horse: A Lakota Life. By Kingsley M. Bray. N orm an : U n iversity...