BOOKS: The Snow Leopard

In honor of the release of Apple's Snow Leopard__In the 1978 book, "The Snow Leopard, "the Snow Leopard," one of the world's most elusive and beautiful animals is celebrated in a loving Buddhist meditation by naturalist writer Peter Matthiessen. Written in exquisite prose and careful detail the book follows Matthissen's quest to the Dolpo region of the Himalaya Mountains to be one of the first humans since the 1950's to see the animal in the wild. Does he succeed? No plot spoilers here, but the journey along the way turns into an adventure of self discovery and exploration of the beauty of nature and life. Meant to be read slowly and savored this book is shot through with metaphor and mysticism. In the vain of Henry David Thoreau the book operates on many planes both spiritual and material and it is fascinating to see how an American intellectual of that time was fascinated with Buddhist thought. The book has dated views on anthropology and politics and is a litany of Matthissen's personal problems and how he used the quest to solve them. However the beautiful prose and the descriptions of the Himalaya mountains make it a worthwhile read.