Written for a broad audience and illustrated with beautiful color photographs, the book provides a fascinating view of the history, culture, economy, and landscape of perhaps the most enigmatic and picturesque valley in the high mountains of the Himalaya. The author"s extensive research among the extraordinarily entrepreneurial Manang community residing in the Annapurna region of highland Nepal reveals a fascinating combination of factors responsible for the remarkable emergence of the group as prominent international traders in the 1960s and re-emergence as flourishing tourism entrepreneurs in the 1990s. A must read for visitors and for those with an interest in Tibetan Buddhist culture and the developing Himalaya region, the book offers compelling insights into the phenomena of entrepreneurship, cooperation, and competition within village communities.