Quest for the Sublime: Finding Nature's Secret in Switzerland (Adventures with Purpose)

By Richard Bangs

In addition to being a picturesque setting for organized tours into the wild, Switzerland has long been considered the birthplace of adventure travel and the wellspring of eco-tourism. Byron, Shelly, Keats, and Wordsworth all traveled to Switzerland, and upon reaching the Swiss Alps the word they chose to describe what they saw was, not surprisingly, sublime. Here, Richard Bangs embarks upon a new adventure to discover what sublime truly meant to those early travelers and to know how the experiences of past poets and artists transformed the concept of travel. Along the way Bangs examines questions surrounding natural resources, finding answers in Switzerland that may serve as examples for the rest of the world.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0897326806
• ISBN13: 9780897326803
• Release Date: October 2008
• Publisher: Menasha Ridge Press
• Length: 260 Pages
• Weight: 0.79 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.0" x 7.0"

Customer Reviews

A frightening natural force

I missed the adrenaline-spiked adventures of the young Richard Bangs and was at first frustrated with the professorial stance of the middle-aged man now observing and describing the sublimity of nature. But,soon Bangs graceful writing and descriptive powers moved me along on his less than life-threatening sojourn through the Alps quoting, past travelers along the way like Mark Twain and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Sublimity defined as being a delectable terror, walking on the edge--as in being close to death makes one feel the most alive--Hemingway's bullfighter comes to mind. I'll not be testing the theory any time soon. In the end, Mr. Bangs did his job if it was to inspire one to know the sublimity of the Alps and understand the majesty that continues to call the intrepid to risk their lives to reach the top of ethereal heights. I intend to hike the tranquil pastures nestled beneath frosty peaks before global warming melts all the snow from the tips of these infamous spires. Most certainly, I will take the Glacier Express that takes all day to go 180 glorious miles from St Moritz to Zermatt. My journey, when it does arrive, will be far better informed than that the average traveler for having read this book. Linda Ballou