The Climb
by Anatoli Boukreev, G. Weston DeWalt
(Click here)
Book Summary Information
Author: Anatoli Boukreev, G. Weston DeWaltEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 1999-07-16
ISBN: 0312206372
Number of pages: 416
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Accessories:
Book Reviews of The Climb
Book Review: The Question: Why?
Summary: 4 Stars
I have never climbed a mountain, and I never will, but when I have hard times I like to read about people who have a tougher time of it than I do. The Climb fits the bill. What suffering!
The question: Why? Why would anyone pay a $65K fee to join an expedition like the ones that tackled Everest in 1996? The $65K is just to join. Personal expenses like air fare, the cost of equipment, and the time commitment come on top of the fee. For all this you become part of a group of people you do not know and may not like to risk life and limb to climb and climb and climb into ever harsher and more difficult conditions and ultimately to put your life at direct risk. For what?
This is a fine book; Into Thin Air is a fine book. What is amazing and very entertaining about both of these books is to behold and consider the folly of this adventure in all its glory.
I reserve five-star reviews for the best of the best. Do not take the four-star rating as a criticism. This is a very well written story.
Summary of The Climb
In May 1996 three expeditions attempted to climb Mount Everest on the Southeast Ridge route pioneered by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953. Crowded conditions slowed their progress. Late in the day twenty-three men and women-including expedition leaders Scott Fischer and Rob Hall-were caught in a ferocious blizzard. Disoriented and out of oxygen, climbers struggled to find their way down the mountain as darkness approached. Alone and climbing blind, Anatoli Boukreev brought climbers back from the edge of certain death. This new edition includes a transcript of the Mountain Madness expedition debriefing recorded five days after the tragedy, as well as G. Weston DeWalt's response to Into Thin Air author Jon Krakauer.The Climb is Russian mountaineer Anatoli Boukreev's account of the harrowing May 1996 Mount Everest attempt, a tragedy that resulted in the deaths of eight people. The book is also Boukreev's rebuttal to accusations from fellow climber and author Jon Krakauer, who, in his bestselling memoir, Into Thin Air, suggests that Boukreev forfeited the safety of his clients to achieve his own climbing goals. Investigative writer and Climb coauthor G. Weston DeWalt uses taped statements from the surviving climbers and translated interviews from Boukreev to piece together the events and prove to the reader that Boukreev's role was heroic, not opportunistic. Boukreev refers to the actions of expedition leader Scott Fischer throughout the ascent, implying that factors other than the fierce snowstorm may have caused this disaster. This new account sparks debate among both mountaineers and those who have followed the story through the media and Krakauer's book. Readers can decide for themselves whether Boukreev presents a laudable defense or merely assuages his own bruised ego.
Adventurers & Explorers 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 The Great Outdoors -- Awesome Nature Writing
The Face of the Deepby Thomas Farber
Mercury House; Published: 1998-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.99
Price in other shops:
Wild Oceanby Sylvia Earle, Henry Wolcott
National Geographic; Published: 1999-08-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.82
Price in other shops:
Dive: My Adventures In the Deep Frontierby Sylvia Earle
National Geographic Children's Books; Published: 1999-01-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $11.00
Price in other shops:
Outside 25: Classic Tales and New Voices from the Frontiers of Adventure (25th Anniversary Ed.)by The Editors of Outside
W.W. Norton & Co.; Published: 2003-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.31
Price in other shops:
The Best of Outside: The First 20 Yearsby Outside Magazine Editors
Vintage; Published: 1998-09-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.89
Price in other shops:
Snowby Orhan Pamuk
Vintage; Published: 2005-07-19; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.72
Price in other shops:
Saltwater Buddha: A Surfer's Quest to Find Zen on the Seaby Jaimal Yogis
Wisdom Publications; Published: 2009-05-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.87
Price in other shops:
Into the Wildby Jon Krakauer
Liberty Mountain; Anchor; Published: 1997-01-20; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.95
Price in other shops:
The Climbby Anatoli Boukreev, G. Weston DeWalt
St. Martin's Griffin; Published: 1999-07-16; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.52
Price in other shops:
Left for Dead: My Journey Home from Everestby Beck Weathers
Dell; Published: 2001-11-06; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.85
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
Everest : Mountain Without Mercyby Broughton Coburn
National Geographic; Published: 1997-10-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $13.43
Price in other shops:
K2, The Savage Mountain: The Classic True Story of Disaster and Survival on the World's Second-Highest Mountainby Charles S. Houston, Robert H. Bates
The Lyons Press; Published: 2008-12-16; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.09
Price in other shops:
No Shortcuts to the Top: Climbing the World's 14 Highest Peaksby Ed Viesturs, David Roberts
Broadway; Published: 2007-11-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.28
Price in other shops:
Annapurnaby Maurice Herzog
Globe; The Lyons Press; Published: 1997-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.53
Price in other shops:
Everest (Large Format)Disney; Release date: 1999-12-07; DVD
Best price: $8.45
Price in other shops:
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disasterby Jon Krakauer
Liberty Mountain; Anchor; Published: 1999-10-19; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.75
Price in other shops:
Dark Summit: The True Story of Everest's Most Controversial Seasonby Nick Heil
Holt Paperbacks; Published: 2009-02-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.10
Price in other shops:
Above the Clouds: The Diaries of a High-Altitude Mountaineerby Anatoli Boukreev
St. Martin's Griffin; Published: 2002-12-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.06
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: $3.49
Price in other shops:
Left for Dead: My Journey Home from Everestby Beck Weathers
Dell; Published: 2001-11-06; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.85
Price in other shops: