The purpose of this work is to explore the worlds of Shamanism and Tantra, specifically in Nepal, not all over the Himalayas, as the title would suggest. The authors divide the subject up into just over 30 major themes and then exposit to varying depths on the particular facets. Each chapter is a mixture of their personal experiences, the reports of their Shaman friends, relevant side-bar quotations from a wide range of sources, and full color photography from beginning to end. Over all, it has some very clear strengths and weaknesses.

On the positive side, the pages are dripping with stunning photography. Rich color reproduction shows off the details of the Shamanic world, Nepal, and over 50 gorgeous paintings of the relevant deities. These paintings are given their own descriptive addendum to insure they are properly appreciated. The majority of what is discussed in the text is pictured somewhere nearby, so if anything is unclear there is immediate visual help at hand. The text itself is clear, engaging, and stock full of details, many of which appear to have been overlooked by other authors writing both on the Himalayan region itself and on Shamanism in general. This wealth of information is because the authors were not satisfied with being arm-chair anthropologists, but spent over a decade among the Nepalese Shamans, becoming their friends, gaining their trust, and being allowed into their world. They are very sympathetic to this view of reality and write about it with passion, so it's rarely boring.

On the other hand, there are some problems. First, despite the size and the comments in the other review, don't be misled into thinking this is encyclopedic. It isn't, and the authors clearly say so themselves. Their major focus is on making available data that is not found in most run of the mill books on Shamanism in this region. The general picture is there, but the details focus on trying to shed light where there has been little before. For this reason, it probably isn't the first book on Shamanism you would want to read. Second, if it's the Tantra angle that interests you, there is very little on it. There is so little, in fact, that there is really only one sustained discussion on it, which is only part of one chapter. The other information is scattered throughout the rest of the book's discussion on Shamanism. Again, this isn't the first book on Tantra you would want to read, but if you know enough about Tantra to connect the dots yourself it provides some really interesting links and suggestions regarding how the two worldviews relate, both doctrinally, artistically, and historically. On the picky side, the text suffers various lapses that will annoy people to different levels. Those involved with religious studies will be progressively irritated with the naive philosophy of religion that the authors display. Despite the book being a monument to the fact that Shamanism functions as a religion, they insist it isn't. They also claim it involves no faith, again in the face of many things presented in the work that must be accepted by faith. In fact, a number of the statements of the Shamans in here are factually inaccurate, yet nothing, no matter how far out, is ever questioned in the slightest, nor is the epistemological problem this casts on the information they gain from their trips, whether on hallucinogens or not, ever discussed. Social and psychological aspects that effect the Shamanic interpretations and the authors' research methodology are dismissed, if not completely ignored. If things like that don't bother you, the sloppy inconsistency on points might. For example, on the exact same page (186) they proclaim that destructive energies can be both destroyed and not destroyed. How about their claim on page 13 that "shamanism only exists in specific areas of Asia" today, which is contradicted by their displayed knowledge of it in the Americas elsewhere in the book? These should not be confused with the numerous contradictions between the various Shamanic schools that are presented, which are given for completeness. Finally, and this would not be worth mentioning if it didn't come up so many times in a book repeatedly promoting love, harmony and understanding: at least one of the authors is anti-Christian to the point of unreasonable bigotry. It ranges from statements of factual error (such as Christianity not being an historically oriented religion) to slander (such as the long disproved accusation that Wycliffe translation teams are covert CIA operatives, for which the authors can only provide a specious debunked source over 20 years old).

All that aside, I bought it, read it, and it has a secure place in my library as a resource I can see returning to many times in the future. It's pricey, but it's worth it. It's the only book I've ever had where I constantly caught people stopped in their tracks looking at the pictures over my shoulder and interrupting my reading to find out what it was.

The scientific, factual, and succinct data and information listed in Shamanism and Tantra in the Himalayas exhibits a sense of point blank poignancy and excitement as it reveals the lush mental and psychic worlds that developed in the cultures of regions within the Himalayan landscapes. The facts serve as foundation for the knowledge presented in monologues, essays, and dialogues between the three authors and various shamen (and women!!). For example, nestled among complete writings on Shamanism, Tantrika, Vajra Mantra, Yantra, Mandala, Chakra, Gods, Hallucinogens, Healing, Thangkas, Henbane, Yeti, and the cycle of time one, finds musings of the following nature, and I quote:

"I am sitting at the computer, gazing out at the cloud draped Himalayas, listening to the CD Spiritual Dark Dimensions (1999) by the Norwegian black metal band Dimmu Borgir. My gaze follows the crows, eagles, and vultures that circle and screech in front of our house. I don't know why, but memories well up in me about my encounter with the Jesuit "Father" Caspar Miller, a white-haired old man from some place . . . "

What Christian Ratsch goes on to reveal about the effects of the Jesuit virus within the Social and Spiritual realities of people living in the Himalayan region is astonishing.
Oh, and the pictures. Yes, the pictures. The photographs and dense illustrations really exist beyond words. Even without words, and for the pictures and art alone, this book is worth the somewhat hefty price. And it is encyclopedic. The authors take the time to explain various facets and concepts of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Shamanism from the point of view of at least three different religious sects of the region. Also one can find numerous listings of uses and preparations for hallucinogenic ritual plants and fungi from the region, along with prayers to Ganesha and verbatim accounts of animal sacrifice rituals performed in cemeteries. They even have the "Smoking Recipe for the Ceremony of Conjuring the Dead." Can you possibly think of anything more useful than that?
This book is big, broad, bold, and very, very beautiful, literally and metaphorically, my favorite and most functional book in my entire collection. It's certainly not something I sat down and read cover to cover when I first received it.