High Adventure: The True Story of the First Ascent of Everest
by Edmund Hillary
List Price:
Our Price: $11.25
You Save: $8.70 (44%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $3.92 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Edmund HillaryEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2003-05-01
ISBN: 0195167341
Number of pages: 272
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Book Reviews of High Adventure: The True Story of the First Ascent of Everest
Book Review: A cracking good yarn!
Summary: 5 Stars
The funny thing is that people probably eschew this book, thinking it's written in "old fashioned" terminology or it's "just another summit book."
Nothing could be further from the truth. Hillary's enthusiasm for mountain climbing punctuates every page (literally; I don't think there's a page in the book that lacks an exclamation point). He talks about the technicalities of climbing with ease and in accessible language, and he regards the mountains as beings in their own right, worthy of respect and awe.
In addition, the edition of the book I read, despite being a paperback, was illustrated not only with line drawings reminiscent of Arthur Ransome's books, but with simple maps and diagrams showing exactly where the various glaciers are or the path through the Khombu icefall (not nearly as simple as later books/authors make it seem!). These diagrams add even more personality to an already-fascinating book, and give the reader a real sense of what these explorers faced.
This is an enthralling book that goes along at a great pace and it was definitely over too soon. Give it a try: it's worth at least a dozen of the whiny 70's mountaineering books!
Summary of High Adventure: The True Story of the First Ascent of Everest
Fear lives among Everest's mighty ice-fluted faces and howls across its razor-sharp crags. Gnawing at reason and enslaving minds, it has killed many and defeated countless others. But in 1953, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay stared into its dark eye and did not waver. On May 29, they pushed spent bodies and aching lungs past the achievable to pursue the impossible. At a terminal altitude of 29,028 feet, they stood triumphant atop the highest peak in the world.With nimble words and a straightforward style, New Zealand mountaineering legend Hillary recollects the bravery and frustration, the agony and glory that marked his Everest odyssey. From the 1951 expedition that led to the discovery of the Southern Route, through the grueling Himalayan training of 1952, and on to the successful 1953 expedition led by Colonel John Hunt, Hillary conveys in precise language the mountain's unforgiving conditions. In explicit detail he recalls an Everest where chaotic icefalls force costly detours, unstable snow ledges promise to avalanche at the slightest misstep, and brutal weather shifts from pulse-stopping cold to fiendish heat in mere minutes.
In defiance of these torturous conditions, Hillary remains enthusiastic and never hesitates in his quest for the summit. Despite the enormity of his and Norgay's achievement, he regards himself, Norgay, and the other members of his expedition as hardworking men, not heroes. And while he never would have reached the top without practiced skill and technical competence, his thrilling memoir speaks first to his admiration of the human drive to explore, to understand, to risk, and to conquer.
General Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Audiobooks on Cassette
- Audiobooks on CD
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- e-Books
- Engineering
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Medicine
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Susan Wertz
Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Timeby Greg Mortenson, David Oliver Relin
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2007-01-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.03
Price in other shops:
High Adventure: The True Story of the First Ascent of Everestby Edmund Hillary
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2003-05-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.10
Price in other shops:
Sir Edmund Hillary: An Extraordinary Lifeby Alexa Johnston
Penguin Global; Published: 2008-02-13; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.64
Price in other shops:
Sir Edmund Hillary and the People of Everestby Cynthia Russ Ramsey
Andrews McMeel Publishing; Published: 2002-09-02; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $3.45
Price in other shops:
Royal Chitwan National Park: Wildlife Heritage of Nepalby Hemanta R. Mishra, Margaret Jefferies
Mountaineers Books; Published: 1991-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $46.94
Heart of the jungle: The wildlife of Chitwan, Nepalby K. K Gurung
Tiger Tops; Published: 1983; Paperback; Book
Best price: $20.00
Price in other shops:
Photographic Guide to Birds of India and Nepal: Also Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lankaby Bikram Grewal
Ralph Curtis Publishing; Published: 1998-03-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $15.95
Tiger Moon: Tracking the Great Cats in Nepalby Fiona Sunquist, Mel Sunquist
University Of Chicago Press; Published: 2002-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.99
Price in other shops:
History of Nepalby Perceval Landon
Adarsh Books; Published: 2006-09-24; Paperback; Book
Vanishing Tracks: Four Years Among the Snow Leopards of Nepalby Darla Hillard
Arbor House Pub Co; Published: 1990-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.50
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
Eiger Dreams: Ventures Among Men and Mountainsby Jon Krakauer
Anchor; Published: 1997-05-19; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.00
Price in other shops:
Left for Dead: My Journey Home from Everestby Dr. Seaborn Beck Weathers, Stephen G. Michaud
Brilliance Audio Unabridged; Published: 2000-05-15; Audio Cassette; Book
Best price: $12.52
Price in other shops:
Annapurnaby Maurice Herzog
Herzog; The Lyons Press; Published: 1997-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.76
Price in other shops:
High Exposure: An Enduring Passion for Everest and Unforgiving Placesby David Breashears
Simon & Schuster; Published: 2000-05-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.28
Price in other shops:
The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everestby Anatoli Boukreev, G. Weston DeWalt
St. Martin's Paperbacks; Published: 1998-07-15; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.99
Price in other shops:
Triumph on Everest: A Photobiography of Sir Edmund Hillaryby Broughton Coburn
National Geographic Children's Books; Published: 2003-04-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.00
Price in other shops:
Ghosts of Everest: The Search for Mallory and Irvineby Jochen Hemmleb, Larry A. Johnson, Eric R. Simonson, William E. Nothdurft
Mountaineers Books; Published: 2001-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $15.52
Price in other shops:
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disasterby Jon Krakauer
Anchor; Published: 1999-10-19; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.99
Price in other shops:
Everest (Large Format)Release date: 1999-12-07; DVD
Best price: $4.00
Price in other shops:
View from the Summit: The Remarkable Memoir by the First Person to Conquer Everestby Sir Edmund Hillary
Pocket; Published: 2000-05-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.86
Price in other shops: