Mountains cover a quarter of the Earth's land surface and a quarter of the global population lives in or adjacent to these areas. The global importance of mountains is recognized particularly because they provide critical resources, such as water, food and wood; contain high levels of biological and cultural diversity; and are often places for tourism and recreation and/or of sacred significance.
This major revision of Larry Price's book Mountains and Man (1981) is both timely and highly appropriate. The past three decades have been a period of remarkable progress in our...