''The Snow Leopard'' is a 1978 book by

Peter Matthiessen Peter Matthiessen (May 22, 1927 – April 5, 2014) was an American novelist, naturalist, wilderness writer, zen teacher and onetime CIA agent. A co-founder of the literary magazine ''The Paris Review'', he is the only writer to have won the Nat ...

. It is an account of his two-month search for the

snow leopard The snow leopard (''Panthera uncia'') is a species of large cat in the genus ''Panthera'' of the family Felidae. The species is native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because ...

with naturalist George Schaller in the Dolpo region on the

Tibetan Plateau The Tibetan Plateau, also known as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau or Qingzang Plateau, is a vast elevated plateau located at the intersection of Central Asia, Central, South Asia, South, and East Asia. Geographically, it is located to the north of H ...

in the

Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than 100 pea ...

Content

The book recounts the journey of Matthiessen and Schaller in 1973 to Shey Gompa in the inner Dolpo region of Nepal. Schaller's original objective was to compare the mating habits of the Himalayan blue sheep (the

bharal The bharal (''Pseudois nayaur''), also called the blue sheep, is a Caprinae, caprine native to the high Himalayas. It is the monotypic taxon, only member of the genus ''Pseudois.'' It occurs in Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, and in Ch ...

) with those of the common sheep of the USA, while for Matthiessen the trip was more of a spiritual exploration. Another aim was to spot the snow leopard, a predator on the bharal and a creature that was seldom seen (it had been glimpsed only twice by Westerners in the previous twenty five years). A third part of the plan was to visit the Crystal Monastery and its Buddhist lama. The travel aspect of the work is in the tradition of writing by Sir Richard Burton, Sir

Henry Morton Stanley Sir Henry Morton Stanley (born John Rowlands; 28 January 1841 – 10 May 1904) was a Welsh-American explorer, journalist, soldier, colonial administrator, author, and politician famous for his exploration of Central Africa and search for missi ...

, and Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton. The

nature writing Nature writing is nonfiction or fiction prose about the natural environment. It often draws heavily from scientific information and facts while also incorporating philosophical reflection upon various aspects of nature. Works are frequently writte ...

aspect brings echoes of the work of Alexander von Humboldt or Charles Darwin. It also involves a meditation upon inner peace, however, as well as external exploration, in a way that is reminiscent of Basho, Wordsworth or Thoreau. For example, towards the end of the book Matthiessen sits on some rocks and observes "These hard rocks instruct my bones in what my brain could never grasp in the

Heart Sutra The ''Heart Sūtra'', ) is a popular sutra in Mahayana, Mahāyāna Buddhism. In Sanskrit, the title ' translates as "The Heart of the Prajnaparamita, Perfection of Wisdom". The Sutra famously states, "Form is emptiness (''śūnyatā''), em ...

, that 'form is

emptiness Emptiness as a human condition is a sense of generalized boredom, social alienation, nihilism, and apathy. Feelings of emptiness often accompany dysthymia, depression (mood), depression, loneliness, anhedonia, wiktionary:despair, despair, or o ...

and emptiness is form'— the Void, the emptiness of blue-black space, contained in everything." Matthiessen frequently digresses to remember his wife Deborah Love who had died of cancer prior to the adventure. The book is, therefore, also a meditation upon death, suffering, loss, memory and healing. The memories of Deborah operate with a number of other recursive stylistic traits that play against the linear, outward progress of the journey logged through maps and dates. Questions of absence and presence play in tandem with the wider question of gaining peace through an acceptance of how the world is rather than desiring phenomena to arise that do not exist.

Awards and acclaim

''The Snow Leopard'' won the 1979

National Book Award The National Book Awards (NBA) are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. ...

in the category Contemporary Thought"National Book Awards – 1979"

National Book Foundation The National Book Foundation (NBF) is an American nonprofit organization established with the goal "to raise the cultural appreciation of great writing in America." Established in 1989 by National Book Awards, Inc.,Edwin McDowell. "Book Notes: ...

. Retrieved 2012-02-21. and the 1980

National Book Award for Nonfiction The National Book Award for Nonfiction is one of five US annual National Book Awards, which are given by the National Book Foundation to recognize outstanding literary work by US citizens. They are awards "by writers to writers". The panelists a ...

(paperback)."National Book Awards – 1980"

. Retrieved 2012-02-21.
Some dual awards for hardcover and paperback books were conferred from 1980 to 1983, when both Fiction and Nonfiction were also subdivided in other ways. It has garnered more critical acclaim since then. It has been included in several lists of best travel books including World Hum's ten most celebrated books, ''Washington Post Book World's'' Travel Books That Will Take You Far, and

National Geographic Traveler ''National Geographic Traveler'' is a magazine published by National Geographic Partners, NG Media in Armenia, Belgium, the Netherlands, China, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Latin America, Israel, Poland, Romania, Slov ...

's Around the World in 80+ Books.Around the World in 80+ Books

References

External links

published in the NY Times on November 26, 1978

in Salon's Wanderlust
The Snow Leopard - A Pictorial Companion
Book documenting PM's trip to Upper Dolpo in pictures {{DEFAULTSORT:Snow Leopard American travel books National Book Award for Nonfiction–winning works 1978 non-fiction books Books about the Himalayas Viking Press books Non-fiction books about cats Nepalese non-fiction books Snow leopards in popular culture Books by Peter Matthiessen