The Clouded Leopard
A Book of Travels
1st Edition
Published on 6. July 2007
240 pages
978-0-85771-146-5 (ISBN)
Description
'It is a violent overture, like the opening notes of an opera about war, a war between humans and the land.'
For many years and through many of the world's most remote regions, Wade Davis has travelled in search of the rare places where cultural diversity survives, untainted by the influences of globalisation and modernisation. The Clouded Leopard brings together the extraordinary travels that sprang from this quest.
In Peru, Davis spends time with the San Pedro cult and their shamans, in the frozen north of Canada he hunts narwhal with the Inuit. In Haiti, he unravels the complexities of the Vodoun religion and way of life. He describes the systematic destruction of the forests of Malaysia - far worse than that of the Amazon - and treks to the valleys of the Himalaya, where snow leopards and blue sheep still roam.
His travels emphasise the fragility of the planet yet also illuminate the places and people where the bond between landscape and spirit is preserved. Beautiful and disturbing, tragic and yet hopeful, The Clouded Leopard sends out a timely message that cannot be ignored.
For many years and through many of the world's most remote regions, Wade Davis has travelled in search of the rare places where cultural diversity survives, untainted by the influences of globalisation and modernisation. The Clouded Leopard brings together the extraordinary travels that sprang from this quest.
In Peru, Davis spends time with the San Pedro cult and their shamans, in the frozen north of Canada he hunts narwhal with the Inuit. In Haiti, he unravels the complexities of the Vodoun religion and way of life. He describes the systematic destruction of the forests of Malaysia - far worse than that of the Amazon - and treks to the valleys of the Himalaya, where snow leopards and blue sheep still roam.
His travels emphasise the fragility of the planet yet also illuminate the places and people where the bond between landscape and spirit is preserved. Beautiful and disturbing, tragic and yet hopeful, The Clouded Leopard sends out a timely message that cannot be ignored.
Reviews / Votes
A fascinating read. Davis's prose is richly descriptive, full of scientific detail that resonates with poetic meaning. Davis makes a compelling argument for the protection and conservation of the environment and the ways of indigenous peoples." * Quill & Quire * Davis has returned to the world of letters with The Clouded Leopard, a lovely collection of award-winning essays. * Globe & Mail * Davis's lovely, cubist, rich landscape portraits are also topographies of the spirit, conveying a sense of place, but perhaps even more, the music of place. * Kirkus * Engrossing...Davis's writing shines with warmth and moral concern. A rich celebration of what Davis fears is being lost to the homogenizing march of western culture. * Maclean's * Consistently sensitive, yet unsentimental... Some of the most intelligent ecological travel writing available. Not only is The Clouded Leopard great fun to read, it's also a compelling plea to preserve the planet. * Vancouver Sun * To hear Wade Davis lecture is to be swept up and carried forward by a river of words. Reading him is a no less pleasurable experience. Surely one of the most enquiring minds of the century...he has made a garden of unearthly delights. If you think travel expands the mind, try travelling with Wade Davis. * Ottawa Citizen * So sensitively written its pristine language reflects the landscape it describes. * Library Journal *More details
Edition
1. Auflage
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
ISBN-13
978-0-85771-146-5 (9780857711465)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
07/2007
Tauris Parke
€32.37
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Person
Wade Davis is Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society - named one of their 'Explorers of the Millenium'. A Harvard-trained anthropologist and ethnobotanist, he has travelled widely and is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2002 Lowell Thomas Medal, the Banff Mountain Book and Film Festival Award for adventure travel writing and the 2002 Lannan Foundation prize for literary non-fiction. In 2004 he was made an Honorary Member of the Explorer's Club.
He lectures widely in the UK, US and Canada and writes for publications including National Geographic, the New York Times, Outside, Harpers, Fortune, Conde Nast Traveller, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, International Herald Tribune, Toronto Globe & Mail and National Geographic Traveller. His books include the international bestseller, The Serpent and the Rainbow, as well as Shadows in the Sun, Light at the Edge of the World and One River.
He lectures widely in the UK, US and Canada and writes for publications including National Geographic, the New York Times, Outside, Harpers, Fortune, Conde Nast Traveller, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, International Herald Tribune, Toronto Globe & Mail and National Geographic Traveller. His books include the international bestseller, The Serpent and the Rainbow, as well as Shadows in the Sun, Light at the Edge of the World and One River.
Content
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Cactus of the Four Winds
Hunters of the Northern Ice
Passion in the Desert
Dreams of a Jade Forest
The Clouded Leopard
The White Darkness
The Sheltering Sky
The Forests of Amazonia
White Blood of the Forest
The Art of Shamanic Healing
Plants of the Gods
Smoking Toad
Breaking Trail
In the Shadow of the Red Cedar
The End of the Wild
Introduction
Cactus of the Four Winds
Hunters of the Northern Ice
Passion in the Desert
Dreams of a Jade Forest
The Clouded Leopard
The White Darkness
The Sheltering Sky
The Forests of Amazonia
White Blood of the Forest
The Art of Shamanic Healing
Plants of the Gods
Smoking Toad
Breaking Trail
In the Shadow of the Red Cedar
The End of the Wild
