In an era when foreigners had to seek government permission to travel outside the Kathmandu Valley, the geologist Toni Hagen, born 1917 in Switzerland, with a Swiss team, was allowed to explore the countryside, an experience that inspired him to see more of this "unknown" land. Thus began a relationship with a country that grew into a close friendship over the course of half a century. He was later appointed by the United Nations to conduct the first geological survey of Nepal, making him the original "UN expert" in the country. He spent nearly a decade in this field, during which he travelled more than 14,000 km on foot. His explorations took him all over Nepal and he saw the country like no one else before him, and very few have since. Throughout the rest of his life Hagen became deeply involved in the study and practice of development in Asia and elsewhere. - from Amzon