Sacred Mountains of the World

From the Andes to the Himalayas, mountains have an extraordinary power to evoke a sense of the sacred. In the overwhelming wonder and awe that these dramatic features of the landscape awaken, people experience something of deeper significance that imbues their lives with meaning and vitality. Drawing on his extensive research and personal experience as a scholar and climber, Edwin Bernbaum's Sacred Mountains of the World takes the reader on a fascinating journey exploring the role of mountains in the mythologies, religions, history, literature, and art of cultures around the world. Bernbaum delves into the spiritual dimensions of mountaineering and the implications of sacred mountains for environmental and cultural preservation. This beautifully written, evocative book shows how the contemplation of sacred mountains can transform everyday life, even in cities far from the peaks themselves. Thoroughly revised and updated, this new edition considers additional sacred mountains, as well as the impacts of climate change on the sacredness of mountains.

Table of Contents:
Part I. Sacred Mountains around the World: 1. The Himalayas: Abode of the sacred; 2. China: Mountains of the middle kingdom; 3. Central Asia: The distant ranges; 4. Japan: Mountains of the rising sun; 5. South and southeast Asia: Cosmic centers; 6. The Middle East: Heights of revelation; 7. Europe: Paradigms of perfection; 8. Africa: Facing the heights; 9. North America: The high and the beautiful; 10. Latin America: Mountains of vanished empires; 11. Oceania: Islands of the sky; Part II. The Power and Mystery of Mountains: 12. The symbolism of sacred mountains; 13. Mountains and the sacred in literature and art; 14. The spiritual dimensions of mountaineering; 15. Sacred mountains, the environment, and everyday life.

Review :
'Bernbaum has created a comprehensive and magisterial overview of the heritage of sacred mountains, in a well written work illustrated with many of his own photographs. He combines historical and cultural knowledge of holy peaks with his first-hand observations and experiences at most of these sites. This book will serve the next generation of readers; it is not likely that in the near future anyone will duplicate his feat of linking scholarly knowledge with field work on a global scale.' H. Bryon Earhart, Professor Emeritus of Comparative Religion, Western Michigan University, Author of Mount Fuji: Icon of Japan 'Sacred Mountains of the World combines the grandeur and adventures of mountains worldwide with the spiritual resonance that each brings to the people who are native to them. The book is one of adventure and love, of curiosity and respect. The first edition changed me forever; the second is even better.' John Reynolds, National Parks Service (retired) 'Reading this book is like making a pilgrimage to sacred mountains of the world with the people who love and revere them. It provides insights from extensive research and personal experiences of the author into the spiritual, cultural, and aesthetic values of mountains, and fresh ideas for conservation.' Steven R. Beissinger, Faculty Co-Director, Institute for Parks, People, and Biodiversity, University of California, Berkeley 'Ed Bernbaum's second edition of Sacred Mountains of the World offers a newly polished lens through which we see mountains, not as something to be conquered, leveled, or converted, but instead as where we may find peace, tranquility, and a connection to deeper meaning for our time on this small and fragile planet.' Jonathan B. Jarvis, 18th Director of the US National Park Service 'This astounding book ties literature, art, philosophy, religion, history, and science together in a compelling whole – elevating our understanding and deepening our sensitivity for the world in which we are privileged to live, as long as we can preserve it from our own predation.' Rev. Scotty McLennan, M. Div., J. D., former Dean for Religious Life, Stanford University 'Edwin Bernbaum, unlike most of us earthlings, has experienced spirituality at many of nature's most sublime heights. Now, with his inspired prose and photographs, he gives us a chance to share these transcendent moments. He also shows how the world's cultures, however disparate, tend to converge at mountain tops.' Peter Dale Scott, Poet and Professor Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley 'This new edition of Sacred Mountains of the World is a substantially expanded, supremely successful recasting of the fine 1998 original. Bernbaum's thoroughly researched global survey of the role of mountains in religious thought and practice, cultural imagination, and mountaineering experience is enhanced by his own exceptional photographs and personal references to his own lifelong engagement with mountains.' William A. Graham, Murray A. Albertson Professor of Middle Eastern Studies, Emeritus and University Distinguished Service Professor, Emeritus, Harvard University 'Bernbaum has created a comprehensive and magisterial overview of the heritage of sacred mountains, in a well written work illustrated with many of his own photographs. He combines historical and cultural knowledge of holy peaks with his firsthand observations and experiences at most of these sites. This book will serve the next generation of readers; it is not likely that in the near future anyone will duplicate his feat of linking scholarly knowledge with field work on a global scale.' H. Bryon Earhart, Professor Emeritus of Comparative Religion, Western Michigan University, Author of Mount Fuji: Icon of Japan 'Sacred Mountains of the World combines the grandeur and adventures of mountains worldwide with the spiritual resonance that each brings to the people who are native to them. The book is one of adventure and love; of curiosity and respect. The first edition changed me forever; the second is even better.' John Reynolds, Former Director Pacific West Region, US National Park Service 'Pilgrimage to sacred mountains is both an ancient impulse and a vital ongoing imperative. Ed Bernbaum understands this as no other, and with this beautiful new edition of his classic book, he gives us all an extended roadmap to hidden lands where heaven and earth converge on a regular basis to reveal glimpses of the divine. If religion concerns death and eternity, the sacred, Bernbaum reminds us, is all about life, the glory of what exists in this moment on this blue jewel of a planet.' Wade Davis, Professor of Anthropology and Leadership Chair in Cultures and Ecosystems at Risk, University of British Columbia, Author of Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory and the Conquest of Everest