Library Journal

Starred review in the 9/15/09 issue

Hanson, Kenneth. Himalayan Portfolios: Journeys of the Imagination. Fields, dist. by IPG. Sept. 2009. c.190p. illus. maps. ISBN 978-0-9790597-0-4. $85. PHOTOG.

In this beautifully illustrated, oversized publication, landscape photographer Hanson sets forth over 100 high-resolution black-and-white photographs he took between 1985 and 2005 of the Himalayan Mountains and their inhabitants. He presents five geographic portfolios with captions describing the images, each preceded by an introduction with maps that correspond to the various regions Hanson trekked on more than a dozen trips to inaccessible Himalayan regions in Pakistan, India, Nepal, and Tibet. The second part of the book features two scholarly essays by Hanson, who is able to envision the mountains, glaciers, rivers, and peoples he photographed from diverse artistic, cultural, scientific, and spiritual perspectives. Greg Mortenson (executive director, Central Asia Inst.; coauthor, Three Cups of Tea) provides a foreword, and Doug Chabot writes an introduction about the ideals of alpine-style mountaineering. A back-of-the-book index and a selected bibliography would have been helpful.

Verdict: With awesome images and insightful commentary, this significant book will engage both general and specialized audiences with various interests not limited to extreme experiences, mountaineering, and fine arts landscape photography.

Strongly recommended.—Cheryl Ann Lajos, Free Lib. of Philadelphia