I grew up in the hills and mountains, and they are in my blood. Mountains are complex, mysterious and they have their own unique ecology.

I have seen a few critiques, in which people have said Martin Price tried to cover too much ground. This is a very short introduction, and I like his approach. Not only did he start with a definition of mountains, but he wrote about their significance culturally, from an economic perspective, their importance in agriculture and biodiversity.

In adopting this approach, he gave us an excellent overview of mountains and the risks they face under humanity's relentless onslaught. ( )