Peak Pursuits

The Emergence of Mountaineering in the Nineteenth Century

Peak Pursuits
Caroline Schaumann
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NZ$ 89.99
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NZ$ 71.99
Hardback
h236 x 167mm - 384pg
4 Aug 2020 US
International import eta 10-30 days
9780300231946
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An interdisciplinary cultural history of exploration and mountaineering in the nineteenth century European forays to mountain summits began in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries with the search for plants and minerals and the study of geology and glaciers. Yet scientists were soon captivated by the enterprise of climbing itself, enthralled with the views and the prospect of "conquering" alpine summits. Inspired by Romantic notions of nature, early mountaineers idealized their endeavors as sublime experiences, all the while deliberately measuring what they saw. As increased leisure time and advances in infrastructure and equipment opened up once formidable mountain regions to those seeking adventure and sport, new models of masculinity emerged that were fraught with tensions. This book examines how written and artistic depictions of nineteenth-century exploration and mountaineering in the Andes, the Alps, and the Sierra Nevada shaped cultural understandings of nature and wilderness in the Anthropocene. ]]>
"Peak Pursuits raises critical questions and is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of mountaineering. "-Peter Hansen, Worcester Polytechnic Institute "Schaumann offers important new insights into well-studied subjects, and intervenes into ongoing, vibrant debates about the mountains and human-environment interactions writ large. "-Andrew Denning, University of Kansas "Lyrical and incisive, haunting and urgent, Caroline Schaumann' s Peak Pursuits provides an essential reexamination of the history of mountaineering and the resonance of its legacy in our Anthropocene Age. "-Katie Ives, editor-in-chief of Alpinist "A brilliant and beautifully written contribution to the new cultural history of mountaineering. A climber herself, Schaumann takes us from the Alps to the Andes with sensitivity and verve and puts her fascinating cast of characters from Humboldt to Muir in the many varied contexts in which they belong. Here finally is a climbing history for the Anthropocene. "-Stewart Weaver, co-author of Fallen Giants: A History of Himalayan Mountaineering from the Age of Empire to the Age of Extremes "Peak Pursuits significantly enhances our understanding of man' s scientific, aesthetic, and material interaction with mountains during the long nineteenth century from a transnational perspective. A major achievement in mountain studies. "-Harald Hoebusch, author of Mountain of Destiny: Nanga Parbat and its Path into the German Imagination
Caroline Schaumann is professor of German studies at Emory University. She is co-editor of Heights of Reflection: Mountains in the German Imagination from the Middle Ages to the Twenty-First Century and author of Memory Matters: Generational Responses to Germany' s Nazi Past in Recent Women' s Literature.
Status: Active
ISBN-13: 9780300231946
Published: 4 Aug 2020
Published In: United States
Imprint: Yale University Press
Publisher: Yale University Press
Format: Hardback
Height: 236mm
Width: 167mm
Spine: 26mm
Weight: 692g
Pages: 384

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