Maharaj Pandit divides the Himalayan history into four phases. During the first, the mountain and its ecosystems formed. In the second. Humans altered the landscapes, beginning with nomadic pastoralism, continuing to commercial deforestation, and culminating in pockets of resistance to forest exploitation. The third phase saw a human population explosion, accompanied by road and dam building and other large-scale infrastructure that degraded ecosystems and caused species extinctions. Pandit outlines a future networking phase which holds the promise of sustainable living within the mountain’s carrying capacity. Today, the Himalaya is threatened by recurrent natural disasters and is at risk of catastrophic loss of life. Pandit argues that if humans are to have a sustainable future there, they will need to better understand the region’s geological vulnerability, ecological fragility, and sociocultural sensitivity. This book outlines the mountain’s past in order to map a way forward.