Everest : Mountain Without Mercy by Broughton Coburn
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Book Reviews of Everest : Mountain Without Mercy
Book Review: 1996 IMAX Expedition
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a beautiful, large coffee table sized book. The photography is sharp, clear and the colors are beautiful. What is most impressive is the range of the text. It takes up the culture of the Sherpas, Buddhism, some geological and physiological findings as well as the climbing and filming of the Everest IMAX movie.Sponsored by the National Geographic, and led by David Breashears, a highly respected leader and photographer, this was a dream team in operation. Lead climber was Ed Viesturs, brilliant U.S. climber who has attained 12 of the 14 highest peaks in the world, all without supplemental oxygen. I am happy to report he is not just a myth; his favorite meal on the mountain is Spam, yes Spam. Also this grueling trip was his "honeymoon." His bride accompanied him to Base Camp (about 17,000 feet) and got to worry about him for a solid month. I enjoyed reading about sparkling Aracali Segarra, attempting to be the first Spanish woman to summit Everest (she made it!) She is living proof that female mountaineers can be pretty and vivacious as well as awesome athletes.
The IMAX team was of enormous assistance to the beleaguered Hall/Fisher teams. They supplied oxygen, helped rescue and support the injured climbers on the South Face. Some of the pictures are brutal of the rescue attempts. The pictures of the mountain are splendid. The viewer will get an excellent sense of Everest's brooding size. To me, Everest is a Godzilla of a mountain. It does not have the proportioned beauty of K-2; it is one enormous hulk. But this does not take away from its majesty and awe. To the Sherpas, climbing Mt. Everest is a spiritual experience, something that is done with many prayers and much reverence.
Everest: Mountain Without Mercy will give you hours of enjoyment. It covers so many aspects of the area, and is beautifully printed and bound. I recommend it for your own reading or an excellent gift.
-sweetmolly-Amazon Reviewer
Book Review: Read The Others, Then Read This
Summary: 5 Stars
My Everest, "Experience", began with Mr. Krakauer and his book, "Into Thin Air". I then read Mr. Boukreev's book, "The Climb". Scattered amongst these were many other books about K2, incredible rescues, etc. The first and second books mentioned are outstanding, and while only those who were there know what flaws, if any, the books contain, they are both enthralling, frightening, and in the end horribly sad. They are however written by individuals, and like all first hand accounts expose a personal viewpoint, that here is all the more complex due to the conditions under which the climbers were trying to stay alive and sort out their thoughts. There has been criticism written about both accounts, I am guilty, but from spectators like us, criticism is inappropriate. We just were not there. This book brings balance to the tragic aspects of the climb, and through photographs that can only be rendered through the I-Max System, the best sense of the scale of the attempt, and the personal components that any individual must have to make the summit of Everest a goal. The only very disturbing news this book shared was the unconscionable behavior of one team, who's country I will not mention in the hope that these climbers represent an aberration of that Country's Citizenry. While books and debates will continue on this tragedy for some time to come, this book does an outstanding job of stepping back a bit, leaving bias behind, and finally, stands as a memorial of sorts for all those who were there. Again my thanks to all those who made the book available, and my condolences to those who suffered, perished, and to their families. They were and are all remarkable men and women.Book Review: Amazing, engrossing, thought-provoking, ...but the typos!
Summary: 5 Stars
I can't remember the last time I became so engrossed -- even obsessed -- with a book. The fact that it's a true story complete with fantastic photos doesn't hurt. I loved the way it gave plenty of background and technical information, and wasn't afraid to educate it's readers. And how it answered little questions about what it's like up in the death zone, but still left me wondering, yearning for a chance to talk to the expedition members. It painted detailed pictures of the people on the mountain without really giving many specific details -- when life hangs in the balance, you really see what people are made of just from their actions. I grew to admire a few, hate some, and I even developed a crush on Araceli Segarra. The reason I can't give it a 10, is the editing. I have never seen a book of this quality (or even of considerably lesser quality) with this many mistakes and typos! As Jerry Kratochvil (previous review) stated, the flow of the text was interrupted by the "sidebar" articles, and while I did know the word "cwm" I assume most wouldn't, and they didn't give the definition/explanation of it until it had already been used several times. The book is beautifully laid out from a visual standpoint, but it seems like no editor actually read through it.
Still, I can't recommend the book enough! And for much more about the story, including lots of great stuff including breathtaking QTVR images (the one from the summit is beyond words!)
Book Review: Coffee table it is
Summary: 5 Stars
While the other accounts of Everest 1996 focus in on Fischer'sand Hall's teams, this one focus in the the IMAX team. From the looksof it, they were the only moderates on the mountain that season. They positioned themselves for rescue efforts with the Alpine Ascents team. While everyone else was being selfish with supplies and radio's and rescue teams, Brashiers and Viesters were there to give vital oxygen, help climbers from camp 3 and coordinate the helecopter rescue of Weathers and Gao. While the narration may not be the most riviting part of the book, the full page color pictures are. This was a film making trip for the IMAX crew so the pictures they brought back for this book were increadible. They also published Scott Fischer's pictures of summit day. I noticed one picture where Krackauer is sitting in the snow as many climbers are going up the Hillary step. It really brought to life the sceene from "Into thin Air" where he was wanting everyone to hurry up so he could get to his oxygen on the south summit.
The short stories in the middle of the book make this the ultimate coffee table book. They read like magazine articles. The other books on Everest 1996 can be checked out of a library. This is the one you want to have in your home.
Book Review: THE ULTIMATE COFFEE TABLE BOOK
Summary: 5 Stars
My obsession with mountaineering began with "Into Thin Air" by John Krakauer. From there I progressed to "The Climb" by Anatoli Boukeerev. Then came "Eiger, Wall of Death", "K2 Triumph and Tragedy", and I currently have "Everest Diary" on my wish list. "EVEREST: MOUNTAIN WITHOUT MERCY" however, is my proudest posession to date. The awe inspiring photographs and the unbiased viewpoints from the expedition members were refreshing. There is little finger-pointing in this book. While I was well aware of the IMAX team's efforts during the 1996 tragedy, I came to admire them most for the efforts involved in the filming of the movie! I was lucky to be able to attend a lecture given by David Brashears shortly after purchasing this book and the IMAX EVEREST video. He truly is a die-hard filmmaker. The shots in this book (and in the movie) are breathtaking and were obtained at great risk. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is facinated with the stuggles of mountaineering. It combines facts (not blame) of the 1996 expeditions together with some of the most haunting photographs I have ever seen.