Reviews of Himalaya Bound
BEST TRAVEL BOOK of 2018 - BRONZE MEDALIST - Society of American Travel Writers
WINNER - Best General Non-Fiction Title - Los Angeles Book Festival
BookPage's TOP PICK for Nonfiction, January 2018! -- “Benanav deftly weaves scientific and historic context into the story of one family and one migration. As he does, he also shares an American’s perspective of this radically different way of life. The result is a compelling, thoughtful tale that encourages readers to examine their lives and impact upon the earth.”
"At first, it seems that a forest-dwelling family of nomadic water buffalo herders and their epic migration to the high Himalayan plains is the main subject of Michael Benanav’s compelling piece of literary journalism, Himalaya Bound: One Family’s Quest to Save Their Animals and an Ancient Way of Life (Pegasus Books). But the book reveals itself to be about the hopes, hardships, and fears of a people who wonder if there is still even a place for them on this planet. In other words, Himalaya Bound is about all of us." - The Santa Fe New Mexican
“Riveting” – The Daily Pioneer
“A perceptive account…evocative and full of drama….Michael Benanav describes an unfamiliar culture with admirable insight and empathy. Himalaya Bound is an important contribution to mountain narratives, along with being a compelling memoir of understanding between cultures. At heart, this is a story of friendship and trust, told with the kind of integrity and compassion that often seems absent in our world today.” – Biblio: A Review of Books
"A photojournalist and wilderness guide explores tensions between the conservation impulse and the lives of imperiled nomadic herders in this sympathetic but balanced account of their arduous days on the trail. In 2009, Benanav (Men of Salt: Crossing the Sahara on the Caravan of White Gold, 2006) traveled with the Van Gujjars of northern India, a forest-dwelling tribe of water buffalo herders, as they made their seasonal migration from the Shivalik region into the high alpine meadows of the Himalayas. Sharing the simple pleasures and hardships of an extended family, the author came to understand how pressure to abandon their wild grazing lands and freedom for sedentary lives in villages threatens the tribe's existence...That Benanav is drawn to nomadic peoples is clear, as are his sympathies, but this does not prevent him from investigating complex ethical and environmental issues pitting forest department and national park officials against the traditions of nomads whose stewardship of the contested lands may hold a key to their survival...Benanav's avoidance of excess description makes his occasional passages of evocative language all the more powerful. In the end, his portrait of the land and its little-known nomads is impressively closely observed. An involving, often touching story of an admirable people as well as a cautionary tale about the effects of rapid change and counterproductive conservation efforts on traditional societies." - Kirkus
“At its core the issue is how we conceive of nature: as necessarily separate from humans, or as bound up with those who have shaped it. This debate is playing out as Benanav arrives in the Shivaliks, as it will for much of the journey. At stake is not just the year’s migration but the future of the family and the tribe’s way of life. A tender and timely portrait.” — The Star Tribune
“Reaches to the heart of a sensitive and complex issue. Benanav paints an intimate portrait of his new-found friends, of how they live and play, think and pray.” - Geographical Magazine
“A deeply personal account….Himalaya Bound is a travelogue in the real sense, but also much more. It is an important testimony to a way of life — and a way of interacting with animals . I wish there were many more books like it! Don’t miss this unique and immensely readable tale about people at India’s margins that do more for animal welfare than anybody else.” – Hindustan Times
“A rare glimpse into the hidden world of a tribe of vegetarian Muslims, who risk their lives for their animals.” – The Times of India
"An intriguing foray into an increasingly vulnerable way of life." - Booklist
“'Himalaya Bound reveals a gentle and vigorous people whose fate is tied to their livestock, though it is more accurate to call their water buffalo family members…Benanav is not a distant, clinical observer as this family begins to move toward the mountains. He becomes part of them, lending a hand where and when he can while forming close bonds, which don’t seem to alter his sinuous prose…The personal relationships the author forms here are what makes Himalaya Bound so enriching, so join this migration yourself. The rewards are there to be harvested.” - Providence Journal
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