Stretching 1,200 kilometres across six countries, the colossal mountains of the Alps dominate Europe, geographically and historically. Enlightenment thinkers felt the sublime and magisterial peaks were the very embodiment of nature, Romantic poets looked to them for divine inspiration, and Victorian explorers tested their ingenuity and courage against them. Located at the crossroads between powerful states, the Alps have played a crucial role in the formation of European history, a place of intense cultural fusion as well as fierce conflict between warring nations. A diverse range of flora and fauna have made themselves at home in this harsh environment, which today welcomes over 100 million tourists a year.

Leading Alpine scholar Jon Mathieu tells the story of the people who have lived in and been inspired by these mountains and valleys, from the ancient peasants of the Neolithic to the cyclists of the Tour de France. Far from being a remote and backward corner of Europe, the Alps are shown by Mathieu to have been a crucible of new ideas and technologies at the heart of the European story.

Jon Mathieu is Professor of History at the University of Lucerne and a renowned scholar of Alpine history. In 2016The Alps won the Austrian Federal Ministry of Science and Researchs prestigious Science Book of the Year award for the best humanities book for a general audience. In a career spanning thirty years, Mathieu has written seven books that have been translated into multiple languages.

PrefaceWriting a History of the AlpsPersonal Note and AcknowledgementsList of Maps and FiguresTimeline1. The Alps in European History2. Modern Scholars on the Alps3. In the Beginning was Hannibal4. Coping with Life  High and Low5. Paths to the Nation State6. Religious Culture, Early Science7. The Perception of the Alps8. Which Modernity?9. Europeanisation and Environmentalism10. ConclusionNotesReferencesIndex