Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.26 AVERAGE
3.26 AVERAGE
I read this book after finishing the one by Jamling Tenzing Norgay, “Touching My Father’s Soul.” In comparison, this one felt shallow. The author came across with quite a bit of hubris, despite claiming to be a changed man. His descriptions of the various mountains he climbed and the indigenous helpers on each came off as disrespectful. In addition, the ease with which he described traveling the world and getting reconstructive surgery done, without acknowledging the financial investment, made him sound a bit like a spoiled rich kid.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
I read this book because I wanted some insight in regards to the 1996 disaster on Everest. I've read a couple of books in regards to it, and this popped up on my suggested. I had read that Beck Weathers was a pompous ass, and this book by him only goes to prove it even more.
The guy is a complete white privilege dick, and a racist. No matter how much he tries to make himself likeable, it's impossible. He talks about how he had no care for his family because he was depressed, but basically he was just a selfish uncaring asshole. His wife is/was an absolute fool for staying with him after all the abuse she put up with. It was disgusting.
His wife actually got someone to fly to pick him up off the mountain, and had him sent to the best surgeons. This kind of special privilege was the norm for him, and he took it for granted. Meanwhile the other hikers got left on the mountain to die.
He talked about "colored people", he talked about going to foreign countries and how the people live their lives like he was disgusted, all of it was so annoying, hearing it from his privileged ass. He constantly talked about how inconvenienced he was in whatever country he was visiting- so he could climb THEIR mountain... to use them as a "guide" or basically, slave services. He also described the indigenous people with distaste, criticizing their culture, and their appearances.
He barely spoke of the tragedy at Everest in 96, so don't waste your time if, like me, that's what you came to read this for.
The guy is a complete white privilege dick, and a racist. No matter how much he tries to make himself likeable, it's impossible. He talks about how he had no care for his family because he was depressed, but basically he was just a selfish uncaring asshole. His wife is/was an absolute fool for staying with him after all the abuse she put up with. It was disgusting.
His wife actually got someone to fly to pick him up off the mountain, and had him sent to the best surgeons. This kind of special privilege was the norm for him, and he took it for granted. Meanwhile the other hikers got left on the mountain to die.
He talked about "colored people", he talked about going to foreign countries and how the people live their lives like he was disgusted, all of it was so annoying, hearing it from his privileged ass. He constantly talked about how inconvenienced he was in whatever country he was visiting- so he could climb THEIR mountain... to use them as a "guide" or basically, slave services. He also described the indigenous people with distaste, criticizing their culture, and their appearances.
He barely spoke of the tragedy at Everest in 96, so don't waste your time if, like me, that's what you came to read this for.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail
reflective
medium-paced
Really well written account from someone at the center of the 1996 Everest disaster. What I did not expect was being so drawn in to Beck's memoir and reading about the toll his depression and consequent obsession with his mountaineering hobby had on his family at the time.
adventurous
challenging
fast-paced
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
Not a fan of this guy. Only about 15% of this book talks about what happened on Everest. The rest are boring and unrelated anecdotes about his life.
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced