For thirty years, St. George Littledale and his wife Teresa mounted expeditions in North America and Asia. Through a Land of Extremes gives a taste for a bygone time of travel into uncharted, unknown territory, when adventurers lived by a combination of wit, charm, and luck. Of independent means, the Littledales began in the American Rockies, Yellowstone, and Alaska. These trips were followed by expeditions in the late 1880s in the Caucasus, the Pamirs, Russian Central Asia, and Mongolia.

Their greatest exploit was a 14-month journey to Tibet in 1895. They were attempting to reach the Forbidden City of Lhasa, the great unmet goal of Central Asian explorers. In order to minimize their chances of being discovered until they neared their goal, St. George selected a route across the desolate, uninhabited Tibetan Plateau. At a 19,000-foot pass, they were finally blocked by 150 armed Tibetans. The Tibetans allowed them to continue over the pass to a suitable stopping place. The Littledales had come within 49 miles of Lhasa, closer than any other foreigners since 1846.

Through a Land of Extremes: The Littledales of Central Asia, Elizabeth and Nicholas Clinch, The Mountaineers Books, Paperback, 379 pp, $21.95

Elizabeth Clinch is a former editorial researcher for National Geographic in Washington, D.C. Nicholas Clinch has led numerous successful mountaineering expeditions, including the two highest first ascents made by Americans as well as the first ascents of the highest mountains in Antarctica. He is a past president of the American Alpine Club.

	Contents: THROUGH A LAND OF EXTREMES: The Littledales of Central Asia
	Foreword	9
	Expedition Chronology	11
	Maps	12
	Epigraph	17
	Introduction: On The Trail of the Littledales	18
1.	Central Asia, Land of Extremes	29
2.	Teresa Harris	39
3.	St. George Littledale	60
4.	Together	72
5.	From the Rockies to the Caucasus	91
6.	The Alai and the Altai	103
7.	Across the Pamirs	115
8.	To Gilgit	130
9.	On to India	148
10.	Across Central Asia	160
11.	To Peking	176
12.	Toward Tibet	195
13.	From Kashgar to Cherchen	206
14	The Akka Tagh	217
15.	The Chang Tang	233
16.	Confrontation	245
17.	Return	263
18.	Russians and Royalty	279
19.	The Clock Years	298
20.	The Last Expedition	310
	The Clock Winders	319
	Glossary	320
	Notes	322
	Bibliography	349
	Acknowledgments	361
	Index	365