The book is part of the prestigious 'Very Short Introduction' series published by Oxford University Press. In 134 pages Martin covers a wide range of topics such as why mountains matter, mountains as the world's water towers, life in a vertical world, biodiversity centres, preservation and tourism, and climate change. He draws on his wide experience of mountains world-wide in this new book.

The legendary mountaineer Stephen Venable comments about the book "A lively, lucid introduction to the wonder and diversity of high country. Mountains are the ultimate litmus test of what is happening on our planet, and this book shows why they matter to all of us".