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A thrilling blend of contemporary travelogue and historical narrative about the Alps from a graceful and passionate writer (The Washington Post).

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In The Alps, Stephen OShea 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 and his elephants famous crossing in 218 BCE; he reveals how the Alps have profoundly influenced culture from Frankenstein to Heidi to The Sound of Music; and he visits the spot where Arthur Conan Doyle staged Sherlock Holmess death scene, the bloody site of the Italians retreat in the first World War, and Hitlers notorious Eagles Nest. Throughout, OShea records his adventures with the watch makers, salt miners, cable-car operators and yodellers who define the Alps today.

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