Book excerpt: With the rapid growth in cheap worldwide travel, trekking and mountaineering have become hugely popular activities, and in their wake has come a much greater awareness of mountains as ecosystems with their own highly specialized flora and fauna, and with their own needs in terms of habitat protection and conservation. Philip's Guide to Mountains brings together the many and various aspects of the study of mountains and mountain activity into a single volume. The book begins by looking at how mountains form, and then are gradually eroded away. The basic processes of mountain geology and physical geography are explained, with particular attention to the effects of snow and ice and the phenomena of avalanches and glaciers. A description of the weather phenomena of mountain regions leads into a detailed account of the extreme conditions, isolation and environmental sensitivity of many mountain regions. The author explains how plants and animals are adapted to survive in mountains and describes the lifeforms found at high altitudes. The destruction of habitats, particularly by deforestation, is described, together with the harm to biodiversity that this causes. turns to mountain peoples and societies, looking at the many and diverse groups that have developed in mountain regions and the economies that sustain them. The next two chapters cover mountain sports, with particular attention to climbing, and then describe the extraordinary history of mountaineering. Finally, the atlas section provides topographic maps of the world's major mountain regions, and describes each region in detail, giving tables of key geographical facts and figures such as highest peaks, area, population and principal rivers. Philip's Guide to Mountains will appeal to two principal groups. First, those those who study mountains and mountain wildlife, as part of a geography, geology, botany or zoology course, at A-level or for a degree. Second, birdwatchers and wildflower collectors. Thirdly, the large numbers of trekkers, high-altitude 'scramblers', rock-climbers, mountaineers and skiers who visit the mountains. For all of these readers the book provides accurate and fascinating information, much of which is hard to obtain elsewhere. Liverpool John Moores University, and Dr Stephen J Cribb, a consultant geologist. There is an introduction by the General Editor and distinguished mountaineer, Doug Scott, CBE, FRGS