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 The Alps, Stephen O'Shea takes readers up and down these majestic mountains, journeying through their 500-mile arc across France, Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. He explores the reality behind Hannibal's crossing; he reveals how the Alps have influenced culture from Frankenstein to Heidi and The Sound of Music; and he visits the spot of Sherlock Holmes's death scene, the bloody site of the Italians' retreat in the First World War and Hitler's notorious Eagle's Nest. Throughout, O'Shea records his adventures with the watch makers, salt miners, cable-car operators and yodelers who define the Alps today.
- ISBN10 039324685X
- ISBN13 9780393246858
- Publish Date 4 April 2017 (first published 21 February 2017)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country US
- Imprint WW Norton & Co
- Format Hardcover (Deckle Edge)
- Pages 336
- Language English