{"product_id":"the-alps-a-human-history-from-hannibal-to-heidi-and-beyond-9780393246858","title":"The Alps: A Human History from Hannibal to Heidi and Beyond","description":"\u003cp\u003eFor centuries the Alps have seen the march of armies, the flow of pilgrims and Crusaders, the feats of mountaineers, and the dreams of engineers?and some 14 million people live among their peaks today. In \u003cem\u003eThe Alps\u003c\/em\u003e, Stephen O'Shea takes readers up and down these majestic mountains, battling his own fear of heights to journey through a 500-mile arc across France, Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria, and Slovenia.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eO'Shea, whose style has been hailed for its \"engaging combination of candid first-person travel writing and absorbing historical narrative\" (\u003cem\u003eChicago Sun-Times\u003c\/em\u003e), whisks readers along more than 2,000 years of Alpine history. As he travels pass-by-pass through the mountains, he tells great stories of those (real and imagined) who have passed before him, from Hannibal to Hitler, Frankenstein's monster to Sherlock Holmes, Napoleon to Nietzsche, William Tell to James Bond. He explores the circumstances behind Hannibal and his elephants' famous crossing in 218 BCE; he reveals how the Alps have profoundly influenced culture from \u003cem\u003eHeidi\u003c\/em\u003e to \u003cem\u003eThe Sound of Music\u003c\/em\u003e; and he visits iconic sites, including the Reichenbach Falls, where Arthur Conan Doyle staged Sherlock Holmes's death scene with Professor Moriarty; Caporetto, the bloody site of the Italians' retreat in World War I; and the Eagle's Nest, Hitler's aerie of a vacation home.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eO'Shea delves into Alpine myths and legends, such as the lopsided legs of the dahu, the fictitious goatlike creature of the mountains, and reveals why the beloved St. Bernard dog is so often depicted with a cask hanging below its neck. Throughout, he immerses himself in the communities he visits, engagingly recounting his adventures with contemporary road trippers, watchmakers, salt miners, cable-car operators, and yodelers.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e W. W. Norton \u0026amp; Company\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 02\/21\/2017\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780393246858\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 336\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.15lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.30h x 6.60w x 1.30d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/15\/2016\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 12\/01\/2016 pg. 112\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 01\/02\/2017\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Stephen O'Shea","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52732245213365,"sku":"9780393246858","price":22.91,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-alps-a-human-history-from-hannibal-to-heidi-and-beyond-9780393246858","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}