The Alps

The Alps have seen the march of armies, the flow of pilgrims and Crusaders, the feats of mountaineers and the dreams of engineersand some 14 million people live among their peaks today. In The Alps, Stephen OShea takes readers up and down these majestic mountains, journeying through their 500-mile arc across France, Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. He explores the reality behind Hannibals crossing; he reveals how the Alps have influenced culture from Frankenstein to Heidi and The Sound of Music; and he visits the spot of Sherlock Holmess death scene, the bloody site of the Italians retreat in the First World War and Hitlers notorious Eagles Nest. Throughout, OShea records his adventures with the watch makers, salt miners, cable-car operators and yodelers who define the Alps today.