Rating: 
Summary: The white diamond
Review: At first glance, the novel appears to be a travel diary, or an exotic safari journal. Perhaps Matthiessen thought the same when he began the journey. But this is a novel that is penned from the heart and not by any distance travelled. The journey that the author relates is as intangible as the snow leopard itself.
As you can see above, the editors of Amazon deftly describe the beauty and storyline of "The Snow Leopard". But no amount of praise can empart to the reader what truly lays waiting inside the pages of this novel.
Matthiessen expertly transports the reader into his shoes. The author ceases to exist less and less with each chapter. The reader becomes the first person. Halfway through the story, it is ~we~ who are the ones making this journey deep into the wilds of the Himilayas. And by the end of the book, it is ~you~ who just may have found something you did not know you were searching for. Enlightenment.
The snow leopard Matthiessen speaks can be found by the reader, if you let it find you. Read this book with an open heart and open mind, and it just may change your life forever.One reviewer bluntly summarised his opinion of this novel as "THE SNOW LEOPARD is the best book I've ever read. Period." I agree.
Rating: 
Summary: Do we care about Buddhism?
Review: Don't waste your time reading this book. He spends 300 pages discussing Zen and Buddhism and meditation and prayers. He had the potential for a really good book, the plot is good, the problem is that he doesnt talk about the plot. He doesnt care about the physical journey or the action, just his spiritual journey. total lackage of juice in the book, just fluff.
Rating:
Summary: YES and ZEN!
Review: Hmmm... The Snow Leopard- how can I ever forget this book. What begins as a search for the mysterious snow leopard ends amongst the purity of snow-capped peaks, skies that rings so clear and blue, and the silent smile of an enlightened mountain native. Matthiessen's writing reaches the ineffable wonder and purity of nature that Baudelaire always longed for. A fun book, a deep book, and a breath of fresh air!
Rating:
Summary: excellent book that changed my life
Review: I can honestly say that I went to mountains of Nepal in large part because of the "Snow Leopard". It is a work of rare lyrical beauty that does justice to the spare and beautiful landscape and remarkable people it describes. After revisiting the text many times it still never fails to inspire. One of the great books on the inner and outer journey that belongs in the ranks of travel classics such as Bruce Chatwin's "Songlines" and Byron's "Road to Oxiana"
Rating:
Summary: An Unforgettable Journey
Review: I first read this book while in college but it still resonates for me today as well. What starts out to be simply a journey to far-off Tibet in search of the elusive snow leopard turns out to be also a journey towards understanding--of the death of his wife from cancer, the exotic culture and people of highland Asia, and his relationship to his mysterious guide and friend Tukten. No definitive answers are found to any of these questions but we learn that sometimes it's the quest and not the destination that's truly important.
It transports the reader to a faraway part of the planet but at the same time it shows how our journeys abroad can illuminate
our own lives and uncover parts of ourselves that we don't see
back in our tightly controlled worlds.
This is not a book for everyone's tastes but it is a true
classic in every sense of the word. Read it!
Rating:
Summary: An Unforgettable Journey
Review: I first read this book while in college but it still resonates for me today as well. What starts out to be simply a journey to far-off Tibet in search of the elusive snow leopard turns out to be also a journey towards understanding--of the death of his wife from cancer, the exotic culture and people of highland Asia, and his relationship to his mysterious guide and friend Tukten. No definitive answers are found to any of these questions but we learn that sometimes it's the quest and not the destination that's truly important.
It transports the reader to a faraway part of the planet but at the same time it shows how our journeys abroad can illuminate
our own lives and uncover parts of ourselves that we don't see
back in our tightly controlled worlds.
This is not a book for everyone's tastes but it is a true
classic in every sense of the word. Read it!
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent book for reading by the campfire
Review: I had this book on my shelf for ~ 15 years before I read it (it was a gift from a friend). I must've started reading the book about a dozen times without getting further than 20 pages into the story before putting it down. Then, I just recently went on a week-long camping trip in a quiet corner of the Rocky Mountains. At the start of the trip, I happened to grab "The Snow Leopard" on my way out the door (I knew I'd need reading material, and it just happened to be the first book at hand in my "not-yet-read" bookshelf). In the rustic and remote setting of the Rocky Mountains, this book was transformed from a self-serving exposition of sentimentality to a very thought-provoking and entertaining travelogue, in which the external terrain encountered by the author becomes a catalyst for exploring the internal world inside our minds. I would recommend finding a quiet spot somewhere outside as the perfect place to read "The Snow Leopard."
Rating:
Summary: transcending its travelogue form, pointing towards buddha
Review: I have just embarked on the reading of The Snow Leopard for the second time, to find it is the most valuable book I've read since the last time I read it! Maybe not for all, but for those interested in their own true natures, and the unfoldment of what it means to be compassionate as human beings, this book is unparalleled in my experience. To those ready it will illumninate something sacred within--Matthiesen has exposed his soul in excruciating honesty and tenderness, and we are all the better for it. Read it!
Rating:
Summary: The Magic of a Spiritual Odysey
Review: I have lost count of the number of times I have re-read parts of this book. I have read it from cover to cover at least 4 times over ten years and it speaks new words each time. It is a spiritual journey just reading it; to say nothing of the description of Peter's own inner odyssey. Please read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Snow Leopard is a must own book.
Review: I keep only books that I find valuable in my life. The Snow Leopard is one of these. It is a must have/must own book. One of the best books I ever read. Always stands clear in my mind and is something to look up to. A classic.
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