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shriyahazra's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
itseliford's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
This is my kind of book, It retells the story of a French expedition of the first peak climbed above 8000m. The expedition was insane in what they were able to pull off in the given era(1950). They only just managed to summit before the yearly monsoon hit. The roles that each of the climbers, sherpas, and coolies took which led to the successful summit were pretty insane. The things that they are retelling are hard to even fathom and to do all they did without modern gear is badass to put it lightly.
kwtingley's review against another edition
A great real-life adventure story from another time! Inspiring to see the drive, commitment and teamwork towards the goal of climbing (at that time) the highest mountain even climbed!
ashimgarg's review against another edition
4.0
I asked the personnel in Kathmandu's Pilgrim bookhouse to give me a book for my 12 day Everest Base Camp trek. A book which has the story of an expedition to a big Himalayan peak, a story which is well written and tells me about the realities of an expedition. A story which dives deep into the difficulty of the summits, and explains both the physical and mental limits that man faces.
After I ended my long explanation of what I wanted, a man showed me this book and said "This is the story of the first successful expedition of an 8000m peak, which happened before Everest. This is a story from 1950, by the expedition leader himself. You'll like it".
And oh boy, did I like it? I loved it!
PS. I'd give 4.5 stars if I could as it got complicated in the start, identifying the people but the benefit of doubt for the brave team and the fact it was more than 70 years ago.
After I ended my long explanation of what I wanted, a man showed me this book and said "This is the story of the first successful expedition of an 8000m peak, which happened before Everest. This is a story from 1950, by the expedition leader himself. You'll like it".
And oh boy, did I like it? I loved it!
PS. I'd give 4.5 stars if I could as it got complicated in the start, identifying the people but the benefit of doubt for the brave team and the fact it was more than 70 years ago.
alanyoung's review
4.0
Tat gave me this as a Christmas present. It was fascinating to read.
There were the references to places we knew, had seen or visited.
There were glimpses into the Nepal that had already been lost by the time we arrived 30 years later.
There were examples of the culture that seemed very familiar.
There were experiences way beyond anything I could ever have imagined doing or even wanting to do. There were reminders that we went to Annapurna Base Camp 37 years later and that was only half way up!
There was a curious combination of meticulous planning and occasion lapses in technique. Some of the factors leading to the devastating frostbite looked partly avoidable.
There were some wry distortions of the truth (not due to Herzog) such as the Rana presenting themselves as Maharajas!
Overall it was a gripping read and a stirring tale.
There were the references to places we knew, had seen or visited.
There were glimpses into the Nepal that had already been lost by the time we arrived 30 years later.
There were examples of the culture that seemed very familiar.
There were experiences way beyond anything I could ever have imagined doing or even wanting to do. There were reminders that we went to Annapurna Base Camp 37 years later and that was only half way up!
There was a curious combination of meticulous planning and occasion lapses in technique. Some of the factors leading to the devastating frostbite looked partly avoidable.
There were some wry distortions of the truth (not due to Herzog) such as the Rana presenting themselves as Maharajas!
Overall it was a gripping read and a stirring tale.
willowchloe's review against another edition
4.0
Struggles occasionally with pacing and does require some small knowledge of climbing to properly enjoy. Having said that this is ab important historical document and a gripping testament to the french climbers achievements.
mehilbert's review against another edition
2.0
The story is fascinating. The writing is not stellar.
sashkello's review against another edition
4.0
A very well written book which feels like an adventure, at the same time goes quite a bit into technical details and gory stuff. The expedition felt a bit rushed and the way back was something they didn't think through at all, so I doubt this book is a good one to inspire future mountaineers, as it's more scary than exciting. It's obvious the author brushed over some less pleasant aspects of the expedition (obvious conflicts in the group, horrible stuff going on in mid 20th century Nepal etc). But... you kind of read it between the lines.
Also, I'd like to say that the controversy about this account is extremely sensationalized. I've read through a lot of stuff including Lachenal's diary excerpts and I must say there is very little difference in the story. Yes, Herzog chose to avoid covering some things, but it's very understandable and mostly for the benefit of everyone involved. No one wants to read about verbal altercations. But let me say this - throughout the whole book he praises each and every member of the team so much it honestly gets a bit annoying at some point. Nowhere he describes himself as a lone hero, and more than that while reading it honestly felt to me that he was the one eventually reaching the summit only because he was ready to sacrifice his health and life for it (and he obviously was, there is no question about it). Not a bad word is said about any member of the group here. Those sensationalized articles where some members of the party say stuff like "oh, he says "we decided", but it was me who found that track!" are honestly just petty. By any means, this account is very close to reality and is supported by everyone, the only difference is in subjective judgement, which is something you can see for yourself. At many points in the story heroism is bordering with stupidity and you don't have to scream "controversy" to understand that.
Also, I'd like to say that the controversy about this account is extremely sensationalized. I've read through a lot of stuff including Lachenal's diary excerpts and I must say there is very little difference in the story. Yes, Herzog chose to avoid covering some things, but it's very understandable and mostly for the benefit of everyone involved. No one wants to read about verbal altercations. But let me say this - throughout the whole book he praises each and every member of the team so much it honestly gets a bit annoying at some point. Nowhere he describes himself as a lone hero, and more than that while reading it honestly felt to me that he was the one eventually reaching the summit only because he was ready to sacrifice his health and life for it (and he obviously was, there is no question about it). Not a bad word is said about any member of the group here. Those sensationalized articles where some members of the party say stuff like "oh, he says "we decided", but it was me who found that track!" are honestly just petty. By any means, this account is very close to reality and is supported by everyone, the only difference is in subjective judgement, which is something you can see for yourself. At many points in the story heroism is bordering with stupidity and you don't have to scream "controversy" to understand that.