Catalogue of the Himalayan Literature, Third Edition. Edited by Yoshimi Yakushi. Hakusuigha Publishing Co., Ltd., Tokyo, 1994. 1320 pages. ¥55,000 (about $550.00).

Comment: The long-awaited third edition of Yakushi’s catalogue has 7100 entries in the European languages and 1800 entries in Japanese. There are also a few entries in Russian. This edition has twice as many entries as the second edition, published in 1984. In addition to the alphabetic section, the cross-index is a voluminous work in itself. It shows, among other items, the books on expeditions to all the mountains in Central Asia, the main focus of the book. Exploration, military affairs, the Great Game, political development of the entire region, cultural artefacts, the Great Trigonometric Survey of India and the Himalaya are all well covered. This is an absolute must for any serious collector of the history of Central Asia and mountaineering in the region—though the book is one of the most expensive ever published.

John M. Boyle