Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2038289 in Books
• Published on: 2001-09-21
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 400 pages

From Amazon.com
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.

From Library Journal
This is a first-person account of the tragic climbing experience in May 1996 on Mount Everest that left eight hikers dead and several others struggling to stay alive. Boukreev, a top-rated high-altitude climber originally from the Soviet Union, uses notes and memories recorded only five days after the tragic events to tell what happened on the world's highest mountain. He writes partly in response to other best-selling accounts (e.g., Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air, LJ 1/97). From the first chapter, as members of the ill-fated group meet and organize for the climb, to the last chapter, which raises questions still unanswered, a detailed, day-by-day description of this chilling tale is given. Fast-paced and easy to read, Boukreev's story of adventure and survival will remain in the reader's memory long after the book is finished. Recommended for public libraries.
-?Stephanie Papa, Baltimore Cty. Circuit Court Law Lib.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
By now you've probably heard about the extreme risks of going up into thin air, thanks to several accounts by Jon Krakauer and numerous documentaries, including an IMAX production. Anatoli Boukreev was a climbing guide for the American expedition that lost its leader, Scott Fisher, on the May 1996 attempt to summit Mt. Everest. Four others died trying to descend from the summit that fateful day in May, but Boukreev used his extensive high-altitude expertise and unbelievable physical strength to work at 24,000+ feet without supplemental oxygen to save all the clients of the Fisher group. Although James engages vocal emotion to capture the terror of unstable crevasses, relentless wind, frostbite and oxygen-starved struggles to walk, he fails to employ a distinct Russian accent for the passages that represent Boukreev's recollections, making it difficult to keep track of which climber is relating events. J.E.G. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine