Non-fiction review: Across the Tibetan Plateau: Ecosystems, Wildlife, and Conservation

This beautiful book is an invaluable resource if you want to know more about the Tibetan Uplift or the wildlife and ecosystems on the Tibetan plateau.  Former President Jimmy Carter offers a wonderful introduction, and authors Fleming, Tsering, and Wulin weave a concise overview of this enormous and diverse region of the world.  Half as big as the continental U.S., and with as many total residents in the country as a small mid-western U.S. suburb (about 135,000), Tibet is seemingly at the hub of a vast weather system and watershed for much of the world's population.  The book has wonderful photos, and the panoramic layout works well to include full-color photos with lengthy captions and text about each region of Tibet.  This is a wonderful introduction for anyone unfamiliar with the region.  Even those who think they know a thing or two about Mount Everest (Qoloangma) will undoubtedly learn quite a bit from this extensive text on the region's conservation efforts.  The only major criticism I have is that many of the captions are almost identical to the text of the major part of the narration, which are nearly always on the same page just inches apart.  This parroting of text and caption indicates a lack of editing prowess.  Sure, repitition helps learning, but seeing it twice within three column inches can be a bit insulting.  But that is the only major criticism I can come up with.  The authors cite their sources throughout the book (with citations at the end of each region's chapter), and the information is valid and informative.