Thank you for this interesting and stimulating article with the review of the book by Hansjörg Küster about “The Alps”. Also, in other circles it has apparently been communicated that it is a good book; because at my bookstore it was even in stock. And, I find the book very factual, sober and far away from any kitsch, which one must sometimes expect in connection with the Alps. For example, since it describes the processes in the formation of the Alps (folding) without overloaded technical vocabulary in a catchy way and clearly understandable in their historical course, it is also well suited for reading at the moment, because the reading of this book does not raise any additional problems, as can be the case with political reading, and it invites you to devote a quiet hour to it.
Scientific fact-hoarding, which often has its purpose and raison d’être, will not be found in this book – on the contrary, at many points in the text one feels reminded of one’s geography lessons, of the “moraines”, the “glacier gates”, the “Quaternary”, terms that we laboriously memorised when we were 15 years old.
In general, on the subject of the Alps, I find that holidays spent by parents with their schoolchildren aged around 10 to 16 in the Alps climbing mountains can have a very, very good effect, even if you often go to the same Alpine area. So, I enjoyed it very much, with my brother and my father: it requires sportsmanship, organisational skills, keeping agreements – a bit of map knowledge – and the willingness to get up before 7 a.m. It is a sporty demanding vacation, in contrast to a beach vacation – tastes are different! – but in my opinion it is very nice for young people and children, to get to know the imposing and varied mountain world of the Alps with its diversity; and it’s good for them to experience their parents on the same level, when they live nature together and make new discoveries.
I can say of myself that I enjoy reading Hansjörg Küster’s book and even recover while doing so. Thanks to Renate Dünki for the congenial review of Küster’s work, which leaves nothing to be desired and aptly covers all aspects of the book one after the other.
Susanne Wiesinger, Freiburg i.B. (Germany)
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