True Nature: The Lives of Peter Matthiessen

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CIA agent, writer, explorer, spiritualist: the first major biography of Peter Matthiessen

The time is ripe to bring the life and work of Peter Matthiessen back into the spotlight – bestselling writer, jungle explorer, hallucinogen experimenter, Zen Buddhist. He began life as a CIA agent in Paris (the Paris Review, which he co-founded was merely a ‘front’ for his covert activities) and then went on to explore the wilder places on earth from Africa to South America. But it was the book written after his wife’s early death, The Snow Leopard, documenting his time in the Himalayas, which made his name – and which perhaps remains most relevant to today’s readers, documenting as it does one man’s spiritual journey in search of himself.

Lance Richardson is an energetic and intrepid reporter, compelling writer and exhaustive researcher. He has the trust of the Estate, complete access to Matthiessen’s archive and the family’s blessing. He also intends to recreate Matthiessen’s journey across the Himalaya as part of the writing of the book. True Natures promises to be a wild and adventurous, cleverly illustrated and impeccably sourced biography of a writer due real curiosity and consideration.

© Lance Richardson 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025