The Book Prize Index

The Snow Leopard

Peter Matthiessen

"In 1973, Peter Matthiessen and field biologist George Schaller traveled high into the remote mountains of Nepal to study the Himalayan blue sheep and possibly glimpse the rare and beautiful snow leopard. Matthiessen, a student of Zen Buddhism, was also on a spiritual quest{u2014} to find the Lama of Shey at the ancient shrine on Crystal Mountain. As the climb proceeds, Matthiessen charts his inner path as well as his outer one, with a deepening Buddhist understanding of reality, suffering, impermanence, and beauty."--Publisher information.

Nature & EnvironmentNature & Environment · high confidenceNature & Environment81 signalsLlm Classifier: Nature & Environment -> Nature & EnvironmentOpen Library: Biography -> BiographyOpen Library: Authors, biography -> BiographyNatural History & Animals

Award History

2 wins · 3 total

AwardYearResultCategory / Notes
National Book Award for General Nonfiction PaperbackMajor1980WinnerSecondary source
National Book Award for NonfictionMajor1979WinnerSecondary source
National Book Critics Circle Award for NonfictionMajor1978FinalistSecondary source
View all award history (3)
Experimental book profileGenerated by GPT-5.4 nano · may contain inaccuracies

This is an unverified interpretation of the catalog description, offered as an opt-in discovery experiment—not as bibliographic fact.

  1. 01 Central figures

    • George Schaller72%

  2. 02 Central places

    None extracted with sufficient confidence.

    These suggestions did not meet the normal display threshold and are more likely to be wrong.

    • Nepal60%
    • Crystal Mountain40%

  3. 03 Suggested argument

    No argument inferred with sufficient confidence.

    This suggestion did not meet the normal display threshold and is more likely to be wrong.

    The journey frames study of Himalayan wildlife as simultaneously an inner spiritual quest, using Buddhist understanding to interpret suffering, impermanence, and beauty.

    Model confidence 42%

  4. 04 Reading orientation

    35 / 100 academic

    Serious trade

    An estimate of intended readership and scholarly apparatus—not quality or importance.

Confidence percentages are the model's own estimates. Profile confidence: 62%.