Into the Carpathians: A Journey Through the Heart and History of Central and Eastern Europe (Part 1: The Eastern Mountains) [Deluxe Color Edition]

by Alan E Sparks

Overview

Bronze Medal, 2016 Independent Publisher (IPPY) Book Awards: Best Regional Non-Fiction - Europe. Finalist, 2016 Next Generation Indie Book Awards: Travel.

An engaging and informative chronicle of a hiking and wildlife research expedition along the Carpathian and Sudety Mountains, from Romania to Germany, some 800 miles as the crow flies. (This volume, Part 1, covers the first half of the journey, through Romania and Ukraine.) On the trail of wolves, we are led deep into the misty hills, enchanting forests, and intriguing history of this fabled landscape, where encounters with wolves, bears, and lynx; werewolves, vampires, and witches; lumberjacks, shepherds, and outlaws; poets, tyrants, and saints; deities, demons, and sirens--and such ancient peoples as Proto-Indo-Europeans, Dacians, and Rus', and such imposing historical figures as Attila the Hun, Vlad the Impaler, and Volodymyr the Great--provide broad insight into the natural, historical, and mythological forces that have shaped, and continue to shape, the nations, cultures, and psyches along the way. 63 illuminating color photographs also emblaze this memorable trek (this is the Deluxe Color Edition; we also offer a Black & White Edition at a lower price: see ISBN 978-1633932425).

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781633931534
Publisher:	Rainy Day Publishing Inc
Publication date:	12/10/2015
Series:	Into the Carpathians , #1
Edition description:	Deluxe Color ed.
Pages:	342
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Alan E. Sparks is the award-winning author of Dreaming of Wolves, and has written articles about wolves for International Wolf Magazine and other publications. He has bachelor and master s degrees in physics and engineering from the University of Maine and Stanford University, and has completed post-secondary courses in writing, philosophy, sociology, psychology, painting, acting, exercise physiology, and film making. He worked for over twenty years developing advanced technologies for one of the leading research and development organizations in the world (Bell Telephone Laboratories), and has recently worked overseas as an English teacher and commercial actor. An avid walker, hiker, backcountry skier, and animal tracker, Alan has lived, worked, and trekked extensively in the wilds of Central and Eastern Europe. He is a voracious reader and enjoys studying the natural and cultural histories of the places he visits. To supplement his indoor studies, he has completed courses in mountaineering with the Colorado Mountain Club, mountain ski touring/expedition leadership with the National Outdoor Leadership School, and winter ecology/animal tracking with renowned animal tracker Dr. James Halfpenny of A Naturalist s World. He currently resides alternately in Boulder, Colorado; Portland, Maine; and Krakow, Poland."

Table of Contents

Preface: A Journey Inspired by Wolves - 5 - Introduction - 9 - Romania - 13 - Ukraine - 125 - APPENDIX A: Geography, Subdivisions, and Nomenclatures of the Carpathian Mountains - 246 - APPENDIX B: The Geography of the Ancient Kingdom of Dacia - 252 - APPENDIX C: The Acts of Union Forming the Uniat/Greek Catholic Church of Eastern Europe - 254 - APPENDIX D: The Political History of Transcarpathia during the Twentieth Century: A Hundred Years, Seven States - 256 - APPENDIX E: An Ethnography of the Carpatho-Rusyns - 260 - APPENDIX F: The Slavic Homeland: In the Shadow of the Carpathians? - 268 - APPENDIX G: The Founding, the Life, the Zenith, and the Decline of Kievan Rus' - 271 - ABOUT THE AUTHOR - 277 - ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS - 278 - NOTES - 279 - BIBLIOGRAPHY - 332 - INDEX - 338 -

Editorial Reviews

"...an engaging, evocative work..." - Kirkus Reviews

Bronze Medal, 2016 Independent Publisher (IPPY) Book Awards: Europe - Best Regional Non-Fiction.

Finalist, 2016 Next Generation Indie Book Awards: Travel.

From the Publisher