{"product_id":"the-friendship-of-a-mountain-a-brief-treatise-on-elevation-hardback-9781509555536","title":"The Friendship of a Mountain; A Brief Treatise on Elevation (Hardback) 9781509555536","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eThe Friendship of a Mountain\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eA Brief Treatise on Elevation\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003ePascal Bruckner (Author), Cory Stockwell (Translated by)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9781509555536, Polity Press\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eHardback, published 19 May 2023\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e160 pages\u003cbr\u003e21.8 x 13.7 x 2 cm, 0.34 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘Pascal Bruckner is one of the great French essayists of our time. In his newest, and most beautiful, book he ruminates on what mountains have represented to human beings throughout the ages and why we are drawn to climb them, often at great risk. \u003ci\u003eThe Friendship of a Mountain\u003c\/i\u003e is about awe, danger, self-overcoming, and, yes, blisters. We die and the mountains remain: and thus it should be.’\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eMark Lilla, Professor of Humanities, Columbia University\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘This book is a remarkable meditation on the natural world, how humans imagine and distort it and all too often fail to understand and learn from it. Like all of Bruckner’s work, it is steeped in a remarkable intellectual culture, wide reading, and the spirit of the \u003ci\u003emoraliste\u003c\/i\u003e which informs all of Bruckner’s work. It is an original and important intellectual contribution and, at the same time, an extremely enjoyable read that will appeal to all ages, especially in these pandemic or endemic times.’\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eRichard J. Golsan, University Distinguished Professor, Senior Scowcroft Fellow, the Bush School, Texas A\u0026amp;M University\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"The book unfolds partially like what one would imagine of a conversation between John Muir and Edward Abbey if they met at a Swiss ski lodge: penetrating perspectives, aloofness, appreciation for the landscape, but most of all insightfulness into the environment’s impact on and transformation of the human soul, all captured with a soaring, insistent lyricism that vibrates between macro and micro.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eEcokritike\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhy are we fascinated by mountains? These outcrops of rock were once considered unsightly, something to be avoided at all costs, but, since Rousseau, they have been contrasted with our corrupt cities and viewed as serene enclaves of beauty and relaxation.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBut why climb to the summit only to come back down again? Why does the toil of climbing convert into joy? What metaphysics of the absolute is playing out here – what challenge does climbing pose to time and ageing, to fearful panic, to the brush with danger which leads to conquest? It’s not faith that elevates mountains – it’s mountains that elevate our faith in challenging us to overcome them. These hooded majesties crush some people while exalting others. For the latter, climbing means being born again, reaching a state of exhilaration. Being seized by exhaustion upon arriving at the summit is akin to casting your eyes upon paradise. Is it the stinging cold, the wind so strong that it almost knocks you down, or is it higher powers that speak to us in this mixture of terror and beauty?\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA child of the mountains who spent his youth in Austria and Switzerland, Pascal Bruckner has special ties to the subject of this book: the further he climbs, the more he reconnects to his past. In sparkling and sensual prose, Bruckner’s paean to the majesty of mountains weaves together things seen and things read, childhood memories, literature and philosophy, interlaced with reflections on life, ageing and the unrivalled beauty of an ecosystem that we are in danger of destroying.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eAcknowledgements\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Preamble: The Test of the Coconut Tree\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChapter 1: Where Goes the White When Melts the Snow?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Chapter 2: Why Climb?\u003cbr\u003e           \u003cbr\u003e Chapter 3: Our Universal Mother\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Chapter 4: The Mesmerizing Confederation\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Chapter 5: The Show-Offs and the Yokels\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Chapter 6: Lived Experiences\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Chapter 7: The Aesthetics of the Adventurer: Princes and Peasants\u003cbr\u003e            \u003cbr\u003e Chapter 8: The Two Faces of the Abyss\u003cbr\u003e            \u003cbr\u003e Chapter 9: Reynard and Isengrim\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Chapter 10: Loving What Terrifies Us\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Chapter 11: Death in Chains?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Chapter 12: Protecting the Great Stone Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Chapter 13: Sublime Chaos\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Epilogue: Once You’ve Reached the Summit, Keep Climbing\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNotes\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eSubject Areas: Philosophy [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on Philosophy\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22Philosophy%20%5BHP%5D%22\"\u003eHP\u003c\/a\u003e]\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Polity","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52507344765208,"sku":"9781509555536","price":11.49,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0730\/2037\/5320\/files\/9781509555536.jpg?v=1786444700","url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/the-friendship-of-a-mountain-a-brief-treatise-on-elevation-hardback-9781509555536","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}