Die Alpen

This book by Wolf Schneider provides an in-depth overview of the Alps from
various standviews; history, impact by mass tourism, war and military impact,
ecological issues and last but not least, the Alpinistic aspect of it all. Schneider
is well known German journalist, less known, however is his outdoor credibility.
At the time of publishing this book (first edition released in 1984.) he already
had 30 years of mountaineering experience behind him (scaled Monte Rosa, Mattehorn,
Eiger and many other peaks). For the visual leg, he teamed up with Guido Mangold
who is, again, one of best known German photographer of the late 20th century.
Thanks to that, there are more than 300 photos inside the book, from classic
Alpine mountainscapes to the rock climbing shots.
Book is divided into 11 chapters + 5 appendices:

• The finest garden on the Earth

• Taken from Afrika and formed by Ice

• Conquerer armed with hatchet, plow and scythe

• Just get quick through and no above looks

• Wars on glaciers and ridges

• Writers leave - tourists are coming

• Summit scaled, even at the price of torment and fear

• People rush into huts and walls

• How the Alps came under the boards

• When peasants and concrete make union

• Nature, as everyone loves it

Five appendices;
- List of one hundred and twelve 4000 metre+ high peaks
of the Alps
- How difficult a mountain route is? (difficulty grades explained)
-
Selected bibliography
- Picture credits
-Book index by keywords

Pros
and cons of the book;
pros: well written, comprehensive on all subjects related
to Alps, from early history to the modern impact by industrial development,
good photos
cons:  written in German, no English translation available,
layout is not as eye-catching as it was 23 years ago
Nevertheless, this  book
is still regarded as classic, will suit anyone interested into "big"
picture of the Alpine puzzle