PETER MATTHIESSEN
A journey through Nepal in search of a rare goat brings Matthiessen to the most remote parts of the Himalayan country, and the book he wrote from his experience, The Snow Leopard, is so timeless, so well written, it takes your breath away. His writing style is not over the top, look-at-me kind of books that grab headlines and fly off shelves. This book chronicles the journey within as well as without, and how travel removes us from our comfort zone so cleanly, it cuts to the bone of who we are.
After all, that is what travel is all about. (its NOT about package holidays and low cost carriers and plastic beads at resorts)
Even if you are not heading to Nepal, and have no interest to see the hauntingly beautiful mountains there, read this book....The Snow Leopard will stand the test of time (even though this journey took place in 1973) as probably the best book written about Nepal.
Full stop.
In our age of rapidly spinning commercialization and consumption, Matthiessens quiet reflections on life and the wilderness cut through the clutter that smothers our inner souls.