Left for Dead: My Journey Home from Everest
by Beck Weathers
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Book Summary Information
Author: Beck WeathersEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Published: 2001-11-06
ISBN: 0440237084
Number of pages: 352
Publisher: Dell
Book Reviews of Left for Dead: My Journey Home from Everest
Book Review: ANOTHER EVEREST MEMOIR FROM 1996
Summary: 2 Stars
I expected a dramatic book about mountaineering (in the beginning), survival, and determination but got mainly a memoir about family problems, bouts with depression, childhood and earlier climbs. I really tried to like Beck and I do admire his ability to come back from death and recover; but does one need all this drama and trauma to make a man realize that his family and loved ones come first and are the main things in life, and you don't have to climb a giant mountain to understand? In my observations, I always find obsessions a bit weird and off-center in life. In fairness to Beck, the 1996 story has been professionally and strategically told by others, so maybe he and his ghost writer had to fluff up the pages to make a book. There was definitely enough for a great magazine story but a stretch to find over 300 pages to keep the reader interested. Enough said...Beck, hope you're back on the job and helping others like so many helped you. Mabuhay!
Summary of Left for Dead: My Journey Home from Everest
Left for Dead is a deeply personal story, told in first person by a variety of people who contributed to the survival of Beck Weathers during the Everest accident of 1996 that left nine climbers dead. It goes past the tragedy to discuss why Weathers got involved in climbing in the first place, his lengthy and painful recovery, and the all-important relationship with his wife, Margaret (commonly referred to as Peach). Without Peach's hope and tenacity, it's likely that rescue efforts would not have been continued, and Weathers may never have recovered from the hypothermic coma and its dreadful results. The story of their relationship--they were estranged at the time of the accident--is told from both perspectives, and his obsession with mountains seems almost like another family member. The overall tone is straightforward and conversational: children, pets, and clothing feature as prominently as reconstructive surgery and heroic rescues. But no matter how plainly they are told, the events of that climb are sure to bring tears. Rob Hall's last conversation with his wife, climbers disappearing into the storm, Anatoli Boukreev's rescuing three people, and Weathers and climbing partner Yasuko being left for dead are just a few from a long list. Still, you'll find yourself laughing just pages later, when Weathers gets his rescue team to sing "Chain of Fools" while hiking back to safety--you can imagine Peach being in full agreement of that song's appropriateness. The Everest deaths affected people around the world, and this chronicle of one survivor and his family is a hopeful reminder of the good that can result from such tragedies. --Jill Lightner“I can tell you that some force within me rejected death at the last moment and then guided me, blind and stumbling — quite literally a dead man walking — into camp and the shaky start of my return to life....”
In 1996 Beck Weathers and a climbing team pushed toward the summit of Mount Everest. Then a storm exploded on the mountain, ripping the team to shreds, forcing brave men to scratch and crawl for their lives. Rescuers who reached Weathers saw that he was dying, and left him.
Twelve hours later, the inexplicable occurred. Weathers appeared, blinded, gloveless, caked with ice — coming down the mountain as a “dead man walking.”
In this powerful memoir, Weather describes not only his escape from hypothermia and the murderous storm that killed nine climbers; he describes another journey, a life’s journey. This is the story of a man’s route to a dangerous sport and a fateful expedition, as well as the road of recovery he has traveled since.
In Left for Dead, we are witness to survival in the face of certain death, the reclaiming of a family and a life, and the most remarkable adventure of all: what we can do when we’re offered a second chance.
On May 10, 1996, nine climbers perished in the "death zone" on Mount Everest. The following day, one was given a second chance at life. His name was Beck Weathers. The tale of Weathers' miraculous awakening from a deep hypothermic coma was widely reported. Yet the hidden story of what led the pathologist to Everest in the first place, and his painful recovery after his dramatic rescue, has not been told until now.
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