THE SNOW LEOPARD _ by Peter Matthiessen (Penguin: $16.99; 338 pp.). _ Originally published in 1973, Matthiessen’s classic nature study chronicles his trip to a remote region of Nepal with

field biologist George Schaller to observe rare Himalayan blue sheep and snow leopards. Matthiessen’s colorful descriptions of the beauty and squalor of Nepal retain their interest, but his

attempts to link mystical traditions from various parts of the world into some all-encompassing whole seem superficial at best. MORE TO READ