cover image Kilimanjaro: A Photographic Journey to the Roof of Africa

Kilimanjaro: A Photographic Journey to the Roof of Africa

Michel Moushabeck. Interlink Books, $30 (151pp) ISBN 978-1-56656-781-7

Taking a charming journey to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain, publisher Moushabeck and photographer Schulz document a week spent climbing a well-traveled route with two companions and numerous helpers. Though it's hardly perilous , the trek provides enough challenges for an engaging account: ""The six-day climb starts from the cultivated lower slopes with dry blistering heat, through a lush, wet rainforest jungle, into heath and moorland zones, all the way up the desolate alpine landscape and the steep, exposed arctic mountain summit area, where virtually no plant or animal life can survive."" Schulz's stunning photos are complemented by Moushabeck's colorful description: ""The bird that never seems to want to leave you alone-in any zone, and at any altitude-is the large, noisy, scavenging, tent-visiting, expert backpack-opening, white-necked or white-naped raven."" The company is also entertainingly detailed: ""From flip flops to sandals to sneakers with missing laces and boots with fist-size holes, the 'shoes of Kilimanjaro' rank among the mountain's most amazing sights."" This celebration of nature and human connection makes a fun escape for armchair adventurers and experienced climbers.