Something Hidden Behind the Ranges: A Himalayan Quest

This book mixes travel, adventure, and nature writing in a gripping tale of the Himalaya, its peoples and its ecosystem. With humor and insight into the changing world of the Himalayan wilderness, Taylor-Ide takes the reader on a journey through the jungles and up the icy cliffs of the Himalayas to an amazing conclusion. 35 photos.

Whether or not an abominable snowman or yeti actually exists has been a longstanding mystery and one to which Taylor-Ide has devoted considerable time and effort since he was a boy. Searching through remote reaches of the Himalayas for traces of the creature, the author makes new discoveries and explanations and has more than a few adventures. He is not afraid to take risks, as is clear from his descriptions of one incident involving a life-threatening blizzard and another involving a smugglers' camp. The author weaves his own philosophy on the "wholeness of life" and the "interconnectedness between reality and nonphysical realities" into the descriptions of his explorations. His rich experience of doing things few of us would ever dream of (he divides his time among the U.S., India and Nepal) leads him to conclude that "The voyages we make, the farther we take them, the more complete is our understanding of the segment of existence that we are allowed to get to know, our life." The pace of the story is sometimes uneven, but the research is extensive and the anecdotes about life in the remote jungles and mountains of India and Nepal are fascinating. It's this combination of unusual natural history and Taylor-Ide's own life story makes the book more than just a chronicle of yeti searches. Photos.
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