Killing Dragons: The Conquest of the Alps

Granta Books, London, 2000. First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good Condition/Very Good. Illustrator: Photographic. 750 g; XII, 404 pages, last six pages blank, indexed, includes bibliography and sources, double page map of Europe showing the major mountains, and the text is illustrated with black-and-white reproductions of art works, and black-and-white photographs. Photographic illustrated dust jacket. Light rubbing to the edges of the dust jacket, and minor handling marks to the edges of the text block. This is a hair raising, hilarious account of the birth of mountaineering. Above the pastures of Switzerland, it was believed, dragons and ghosts inhabited the realms of ice and snow. No one in their right mind considered climbing into the Alps -- and certainly not for pleasure. In the late 18th century, however, scientific gentleman began to turn their minds to these high places. And so they set off, early pioneers walking in their ordinary clothes up the sheer rocks into the unknown. When the British came on the scene, mountain climbing as an obsession, an art form and a sport was born. Fall of the imperial confidence that had already conquered so much of Asia and Africa, Britons set out to plant the flag of every peak in the Alps Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Please refer to accompanying picture (s). Illustrator: Photographic. Quantity Available: 1. Shipped Weight: Under 1 kilo. Category: Mountaineering; ISBN: 1862073791. ISBN/EAN: 9781862073791. Inventory No: 0220334. . 9781862073791