Left for Dead: My Journey Home from Everest by Beck Weathers
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Book Reviews of Left for Dead: My Journey Home from Everest
Book Review: one mans epiphany?
Summary: 3 Stars
I read this book after reading Into Thin Air and then the very good book by Anatoli Boukreev (the guide much maligned by Krakauer). It is a different style of book not dwelling on the Everest climb (though it is a large part of the book). It is more an autobiography and states how the climb changed his life. For those with a preoccupation with the climb of 1996 there are little bits not included in the other books which help round out the picture. More important to the book though is the picture of this incredibly selfish man (? trait of lot of climbers?) who claims the events changed his life - though not a lot of evidence is given, though it would be hard to show in his own words. The comments of his wife are littered through the book and give good insight into his character. What I also found interesting was the number of politicians who did all they could to help and the one who refused to help (Governor George W Bush). This is an indictment (another) of the current president. All in all an interesting if flawed book.Book Review: Enough Already!
Summary: 3 Stars
By about halfway through I was bored with this book. I read this book because I thought it would be about his experience on everest, how he got off, and how it changed his life. If that is what you want to know about then read the first three and the last three chapters and you will have read just that. However, this book talks more about his life growing up and his wife. I think what bothered me most about this book is that the opinions of his wife, kids and friends are interjected. A lot of the time they all repeat what the first person had said. There are even times in the book where his wife and him are arguing within the text. It is almost like they sat down and told the story to someone else who recorded it and they wrote exactly what they had said. Disagreements and all.Book Review: Worth reading but it could have been better
Summary: 3 Stars
I have been fascinated by the 1996 disaster on Everest after having read Krakauer's "Into Thin Air." I then read Anatoli Boukreev's "The Climb" and Matt Dickinson's "Other Side of Everest" before reading Beck Weather's "Left for Dead.".
I found the first part of this book very interesting but it lost me in the part about his recovery. Too long and just not as interesting reading for me.
An ok read but doesn't compare to the other ones I have read about the tragedy.
For other books that I found gripping and well worth reading, see my other reviews or my listmania list. I am an avid reader of true adventure and/or survival stories.
Book Review: The adventure and the recovery
Summary: 3 Stars
When reading other books about the May 1996 tragedy on Mount Everest I got more interested in the man who was declared dead, but then miraceously escaped the maountain. So I was really happy to find this book. The first part of this book tells the story from his own perspective. The second part of the book is more about his life in general and the recovery. The book is definitely worth reading, but after such a thrilling opening the second half gets a bit of a transportation to the end.Book Review: Pretty good overall
Summary: 3 Stars
This is a pretty good book. However at least half of the book is dedicated to Weathers' home life and problems with his marriage. While not bad, I didnt really buy a book on mountain climbing to read about family issues. Anyway, Overall though its pretty good as long as your not expecting solid mountain climbing action through and through.