“An entertaining, turbocharged race among the high mountain passes of six alpine countries.” —Liesl Schillinger, New York Times Book Review For centuries the Alps have been witness to the march of armies, the flow of pilgrims and Crusaders, the feats of mountaineers, and the dreams of engineers. In The Alps, Stephen O’Shea ("a graceful and passionate writer"—Washington Post) takes readers up and down these majestic mountains. Journeying through their 500-mile arc across France, Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria, and Slovenia, he explores the reality behind historic events and reveals how the Alps have profoundly influenced culture and society.

Though the Alps may appear to be a peaceful place, the famed mountains once provided the backdrop for a political, environmental, and cultural battle as Germany and Austria struggled to modernize. Tait Keller examines the mountains' threefold role in transforming the two countries, as people sought respite in the mountains, transformed and shaped them according to their needs, and over time began to view them as national symbols and icons of individualism. In the mid-nineteenth century, the Alps were regarded as a place of solace from industrial development and the stresses of urban life. Soon, however, mountaineers, or the so-called apostles of the Alps, began carving the crags to suit their whims, altering the natural landscape with trails and lodges, and seeking to modernize and nationalize the high frontier. Disagreements over the meaning of modernization opened the mountains to competing agendas and hostile ambitions. Keller examines the ways in which these opposing approaches corresponded to the political battles, social conflicts, culture wars, and environmental crusades that shaped modern Germany and Austria, placing the Alpine borderlands at the heart of the German question of nationhood.

This is the first comprehensive overview on Iron Age urbanism south and north of the Alps.

An inspirational larger format guidebook to 20 summer treks in the Alps across Italy, Austria, Switzerland, France and Slovenia, including the classics such as the Tour of Mont Blanc and lesser-known routes like the Traverse of the Slovenian Alps. Perfect for planning, the treks included are: Tour of Mont Blanc, Tour of the Matterhorn, Tour of Monte Rosa, Walker's Haute Route, Tour of the Jungfrau Region, Tour of the Vanoise and Dolomites AV 1 and 2; (longer trans-Alpine routes) GR5 (Lake Geneva to Nice), Eastern Alps E5, Italian Alps GTA and the Traverse of the Slovenian Alps; and (for the Alpine adventurer) Alpine Pass Route, Tour of the Oisans, Tour of the Queyras, Tour of Mont Ruan, Stubai High Route, Zillertal High Route, Gran Paradiso AV2 and the Ratikon Hoehenweg. Outline schedules for each trek allow you compare the routes and become inspired to take up the challenge. Basic day-by-day route descriptions for each route are illustrated with maps and profiles, helping you choose the best routes to walk.

This comprehensive book is an excellent planning resource for those who wish to venture into the Swiss Alps. Whether you are planning a walk, scramble, climb or ski tour this larger format guide describes each mountain area throughout Switzerland - the peaks, passes, valleys and bases - to help readers identify the best destinations for their chosen mountain activity. Dozens of individual valleys are described, together with the mountains that wall them, with recommendations given for their finest walks, treks and climbs. Working eastwards across the country, this guide is divided into seven chapters: Chablais Alps, Pennine Alp, Lepontine and Adula Alps, Bernina, Bregaglia and Albula Alps, Bernese Alps, Central Swiss Alps and the Silvretta and Ratikon Alps, each devoted to a specific range or group of connecting ranges. However, this is not a route guide and detailed descriptions are not provided. The aim of the book is to inspire as well as inform; to show first-time visitors just what the Swiss Alps have to offer and provide a new perspective for those who have been before.

Who minds sleeping under a mosquito net when it's royally draped over the bed in a lush Kenyan, open-walled hut, fashioned from tree trunks and shielded from the sun by a sumptuous thatched roof? This selection of the most-splendid getaway havens nestled throughout the African continent is sure to please even the most finicky would-be voyagers. Photos.