MOUNTAINS

A select world tour of major mountains and mountain ranges, with stops to marvel at distinctive formations and wildlife.

Guillain begins at the top—of Mount Everest, that is—with an explanation of how mountains are formed, then moves down its slopes, pausing for closer looks at a small, high-altitude spider, the “icefall” of Khumbu, a snow leopard on the prowl, and finally four types of butterflies found in Himalayan meadows. From then it’s on, in a mix of similar slow descents and quicker whistle-stops, to volcanoes in Iceland, the Alps, Mauna Kea (which is higher than Everest, counting the part underwater), the Andes, Mount Fuji, the Rockies, and finally the dazzlingly layered Rainbow Mountains in northwestern China. Along with distant but properly majestic views of snowy, rugged peaks, Madden’s mountain scenes feature broad lakes and rivers, wide blue skies, and, in most foregrounds, precisely detailed flora and fauna. Some of the latter go unidentified, and conversely, the rare and large Titicaca water frog and some other creatures mentioned in the text are nowhere to be seen. Still, a sailboat beneath Fuji being the only sign of human occupation, readers are left to appreciate the natural wonders on display undistracted and to join the author in expressing, as she does at the close, a fervent desire to preserve them.

Quick but horizon-broadening flyovers, just the ticket for budding naturalists.