Bibliotheca Himalayica

The purpose of Bibliotheca Himalayica is to make available works on the natural history and civilizations of Central Asia and the Himalaya. The selection of books includes new works by present day scholars as well as reprints of classical, out-of-print or antiquarian books. Reprints of older books may include additional contemporary illustrations as well as an up-to-date introduction..

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Big Dogs of Tibet and the Himalayas
A Personal Journey
by Don Messerschmidt
2010, xiv, 268 pp., 40 b & w illustrations, 5 maps, bibliography, index, 23 x15 cm., softbound.
ISBN-13: 978-974-524-130-5 $29.50

Tibetan mastiffs were first imported into England over 150 years ago, and only three decades ago to North America. During the Chinese Cultural Revolution these remarkable high altitude livestock guardian dogs were nearly annihilated, but they have recovered and are now in high demand, some for very high prices among the nouveau riche of modern China. Today, thousands of these dogs are found around the world, promoted by many breeders, raised as pets, guardians and faithful companions. Some have scored high marks at international dog shows. Interest in Tibetan mastiffs and related dogs-their history, breeding, temperament, function and future-has never been as high.
   This is a book of discovery of the exotic and relatively rare breeds of big dogs from Tibet and the Himalayas: the Tibetan mastiff, the rare KyiApso (the 'bearded' or 'shaggy' Tibetan mastiff), the Himalayan mountain dog, and the least known Sha-kyi (Tibetan hunting dog).
   Research on Tibetan dogs is contentious. This book challenges some of the conventional wisdom about the big dogs with evidence showing how some big dog fanciers have gotten it wrong. It questions the notion that there were gigantic dogs in history, an idea that has inspired some modern breeders to create enormous critters, mistakenly evoking a mythical past-and much more.
   Simply a 'must read' for all big dog owners and admirers.

I've just completed a wonderful morning reading through your canine charivari... it's a cracking book. It is patently both a labour of love and a work of exhaustive scholarship. You've done a magnificent job.
Charles Allen, author of popular historical books on the Himalayas.

You do know that the s**t is going to hit the fan when you publish, right? You're going to tick off a lot of people!! Personally, I think that could be a good thing for the breed if it gets some folks thinking.
A Tibetan dog breeder (anonymous).

[Read a review from Amazon.com] [Read a review from ECS Nepal] [Read a review from The Italian Tibetan Mastiff Club] [Read a review from Peace Corps Worldwide]

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Journey to Mustang
by Giuseppi Tucci
2nd English edition, 96 pp., 85 b&w plates, 22 x 14.5 cm., softcover.
ISBN-10: 974-524-024-9 $29.00
ISBN-13: 978-974-524-024-7

In this new edition of his travalogue of an exploratory trek through western Nepal in 1952, the legendary linguist and Tibetologist, Guiseppi Tucci, describes his experiences and discoveries as the first 20th century western scholar to travel through the region. His account preserves an invaluable record of the art, culture, social and religious practices of the inhabitants of Mustang, prior to the inevitable changes that have since occurred, with the intrusion of the modern world and regional politics into this ancient land.

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Three Years In Tibet
by Ekai Kawaguchi
1909, 1979, 1995. xxi, 720 pp., 11 b&w photos (one fold-out), 63 woodcuts, one fold-out map, 22 x 14.5 cm., hardcover.
ISBN-10: 974-524-014-1 $36.00
ISBN-13: 978-974-524-014-8

Reprint of the 1909 original, with a new introduction by H. K. Kuløy. Account of Kawaguchi’s now legendary solo trip, beginning 1899, through a Tibet long hostile to all outside visitors. Passing himself off at times as a Chinese doctor and at others as a native Tibetan, Kawaguchi managed to traverse practically the entire length of Tibet, largely on foot, reaching Lhasa in 1901—a feat of outstanding courage and endurance, not to mention much good fortune. But the real value of the account is found in the author’s careful and detailed observations of Tibet, Tibetans, and the rule of the 13th Dalai Lama, with whom he met a number of times. Kawaguchi was both awed by Tibetans’ religious discipline and shocked by the cruelty, corruption and sexual licence he saw around him. Overall, a fascinating account for all with interest in this complex society and how it functioned prior to the onslaught of foreign influence, both Chinese and Western, in the 20th century. Bound in blue cloth with gold stamped ‘leather’ spine label.

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Resunga
The Mountain of the Horned Sage
by Philippe Ramirez (ed.)
Translated from the French by Susan Keyes.
2000. x, 304 pp., 97 b&w pl., 36 figures and maps, bibliographies of new and ancient references, glossary of Nepali terms, 22.5 x 15.5 cm., softcover.
ISBN-10: 974-524-017-6 $20.00
ISBN-13: 978-974-524-017-9

A multi-disciplinary study of Gulmi and Argha-Khanci, two districts in modern central Nepal which coincide with the boundaries of prominent earlier principalities, prior to the unification of the country in the late 18th century. The study, conducted by a team of French scholars in the early 1990s, traces the history, ecology, ethnology, social and political structure, economic activity and religious ritual of the region’s inhabitants. A fascinating and detailed account of part of Nepal which has subsequently become one of the most troubled in the country.

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Wanderings of a Naturalist in India,
the Western Himalayas and Cashmere
by Andrew Leith Adams, MD
Second imprint 2011 (first edition 1867). 344 pp., 1 ill., index, 21.5 x 14.5 cm., softbound
ISBN-10: 974-524-113-X Price to be announced.
ISBN-13: 978-974-524-113-8

A vivid and early account of the birds and animals, both wild and domesticated, insects and plants of the north India and the western Himalaya, as sighted by Adams in his various expeditions through these regions. The author, in addition, has a keen eye for the landscape through which he conducts us, as well as for fascinating anthropological detail about the indigenous human inhabitants.
Adams, an army physician, served with British forces in India and Kashmir, as well as in the Middle East and Canada, between 1848 and 1873; he was an avid student of natural history over the course of his postings. Following his retirement, he assumed a professorship of natural history at Trinity College, Dublin.