Firsthand accounts and spectacular photographs combine to form a fascinating portrait of the endangered Tibetan people, their plateau, and their cultural landscape. Known as the “water tower of Asia,” the Tibetan Plateau is heating up twice as fast as the global average. These rapidly melting glaciers-along with recent unprecedented development on the plateau-are quickly changing the lives of the deeply devotional nomads, monks, and farmers who have lived in this area for centuries.

Photographer Phil Borges uses individual stories and portraits to illustrate how dramatic development, climate change, and the deep devotion of the Tibetan people are interacting to transform Tibetan culture. The portraits of the land and the people bring a powerful visual component as the reader meets and learns about Tibet firsthand through these storytellers.