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3.26 AVERAGE
3.26 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
In the 1996 Everest disaster, Dr Beck Weathers was discovered so near death, it was not wise to risk more lives for a fruitless rescue attempt. Hours later, he miraculously arrived at camp. These are the details he recalls. It’s an incredible story of perseverance, and a bold, selfless rescue. It’s also very much about his flailing marriage and the part mountaineering played in his often being an absent father / husband.
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
I found that because this book was so personal, Beck's struggles with mental health and his explanations of finding peace when he's in the mountains really shed some light on why mountaineers risk their lives at such high altitudes. It was short too, which I appreciated.
However I did expect it to be more in the vein of 'The Climb' or 'Into Thin Air', but the focus was more on Beck's preparation for the expedition and his life since, rather than the actual events of the disaster. This wasn't quite my cup of tea, but it was well-written, Beck's a great narrator, and it was great to hear his story from him.
However I did expect it to be more in the vein of 'The Climb' or 'Into Thin Air', but the focus was more on Beck's preparation for the expedition and his life since, rather than the actual events of the disaster. This wasn't quite my cup of tea, but it was well-written, Beck's a great narrator, and it was great to hear his story from him.
This was kinda cringy. Yes, there are new details from Beck's perspective of the tragic night on Everest detailed by John Krakauer in [b:Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster|1898|Into Thin Air A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster|Jon Krakauer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1631501298l/1898._SY75_.jpg|1816662]. They just all come within the first fifth of the book.
There are also details about the recovery required from Beck's severe frostbite and other ailments. They just all come within one short chapter or two.
"Well then, what's the rest of the book about?" My thoughts exactly. The majority of the book flips between Beck, his wife, their children, and several family friends. I'm sure they are all very important in his personal context of the story, but I got very little out of reading his friends' perspectives because they didn't really add much insight beyond basic summaries of what Beck was also saying. In fact, the multiple view points added confusion for me while reading because in some cases, the breaks between their perspectives and Beck's did not have the usual markers - meaning I read a few pages before realizing this was not, in fact, the friend speaking, but rather Beck himself.
The whole thing could have done with an editor. Beck is a smart guy and I get it. But it felt like he was giving Word's thesaurus resource a workout. There were many times I looked up a word and the dictionary didn't even have an entry for it. There were several others where the meaning of the word he used evoked something completely different than what the rest of his writing meant to say. As a reader, that was frustrating and interrupted my flow while reading.
The other issue I have with this book is that I don't know what they wanted me to take away from it. Beck and his wife have an abysmal marriage. He sounds like he was an absentee father, at best. His kids' sections sound like they are sugar coating any real feelings, thus not saying anything at all, and his wife's entries come across as numb to how awful it all was. The book doesn't have the vulnerable, no-holds-barred feel of a family (and a person) that has worked through their previous issues and come together through the fight. It also doesn't have a reflective tone of someone who has learned from their mistakes and actually understands what went wrong. Right up to the end, Beck doesn't seem to really understand the damage he has done to his family, nor does he detail any way he is trying to make it right.
How does it end? *SPOILERS BELOW*
Beck (kind of) makes amends by throwing himself into his brother-in-law's end of life care and subsequent death. He reads his eulogy. I've given a eulogy - they're awful and hard and I would never discount someone doing so. But it was a genuinely weird note to end this book on a tribute to a person who is a minor character at best throughout the entire book, gets sick and dies within half of the last chapter, and then use the final paragraph to end on how the brother in law is a great man and makes Beck want to be better. It felt like a whole other book smashed into a few hundred words, like they were writing this, didn't have an ending in mind, and then figured that would work.
The entire book is incredibly personal, and it can't have been easy to ask friends and family to take a trip down a very rocky memory lane to publish a book about it. But for me it was quite unsuccessful in the execution, style and writing. It's short, so if you're interested in high altitude climbing and/or the 1996 season on Everest, it might be worth a quick read. But I'd largely suggest giving this one a pass.
There are also details about the recovery required from Beck's severe frostbite and other ailments. They just all come within one short chapter or two.
"Well then, what's the rest of the book about?" My thoughts exactly. The majority of the book flips between Beck, his wife, their children, and several family friends. I'm sure they are all very important in his personal context of the story, but I got very little out of reading his friends' perspectives because they didn't really add much insight beyond basic summaries of what Beck was also saying. In fact, the multiple view points added confusion for me while reading because in some cases, the breaks between their perspectives and Beck's did not have the usual markers - meaning I read a few pages before realizing this was not, in fact, the friend speaking, but rather Beck himself.
The whole thing could have done with an editor. Beck is a smart guy and I get it. But it felt like he was giving Word's thesaurus resource a workout. There were many times I looked up a word and the dictionary didn't even have an entry for it. There were several others where the meaning of the word he used evoked something completely different than what the rest of his writing meant to say. As a reader, that was frustrating and interrupted my flow while reading.
The other issue I have with this book is that I don't know what they wanted me to take away from it. Beck and his wife have an abysmal marriage. He sounds like he was an absentee father, at best. His kids' sections sound like they are sugar coating any real feelings, thus not saying anything at all, and his wife's entries come across as numb to how awful it all was. The book doesn't have the vulnerable, no-holds-barred feel of a family (and a person) that has worked through their previous issues and come together through the fight. It also doesn't have a reflective tone of someone who has learned from their mistakes and actually understands what went wrong. Right up to the end, Beck doesn't seem to really understand the damage he has done to his family, nor does he detail any way he is trying to make it right.
How does it end? *SPOILERS BELOW*
Beck (kind of) makes amends by throwing himself into his brother-in-law's end of life care and subsequent death. He reads his eulogy. I've given a eulogy - they're awful and hard and I would never discount someone doing so. But it was a genuinely weird note to end this book on a tribute to a person who is a minor character at best throughout the entire book, gets sick and dies within half of the last chapter, and then use the final paragraph to end on how the brother in law is a great man and makes Beck want to be better. It felt like a whole other book smashed into a few hundred words, like they were writing this, didn't have an ending in mind, and then figured that would work.
The entire book is incredibly personal, and it can't have been easy to ask friends and family to take a trip down a very rocky memory lane to publish a book about it. But for me it was quite unsuccessful in the execution, style and writing. It's short, so if you're interested in high altitude climbing and/or the 1996 season on Everest, it might be worth a quick read. But I'd largely suggest giving this one a pass.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
I thought this book was a survival story but it’s only about 25% about that and about 75% about a guy and his ego slash ambitions.
3.5 stars. Almost put it down at one point but then I ended up liking it more than I thought I would. Pretty honest account of his life and marriage. Not so much a climbing book as a look into the life and mentality of this climber.
Not what I had hoped...more detailed description of what actually happened that day. Didn't enjoy the writing style - and found myself skimming over parts. It's an amazing story, I was just expecting something else I suppose...
Surprisingly a good book. I picked this up as an in-between-books listen on audible and it ended up being a good one. I was already familiar with the Everest story, and what Beck Weathers went through, but this book focuses heavily on his personal life and the toll that climbing took on his family.
7/10. I recommend.
7/10. I recommend.