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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
I am so glad that I came across this book, having read Krakauer’s Into Thin Air several years back. I had no idea that there was any sort of disagreement about the events in the 1996 Everest Disaster. If you have read Into Thin Air, I think you should hear Boukreev’s side of the story in the interest of fairness. This situation really underlines the importance of consulting multiple sources before accepting someone’s version of the truth.
Great book and great story-telling, unfortunately this one seemed to lack the detail, facts, and emotions of Krakauer’s version of events.
I like to read about mountain climbing, even tough I haven't climbed anything higher than my couch. Nonetheless it is a subject that fascinates me and I like to read about it as much as I can.
I had read preciously Krakauer's account of the same disaster, and I have to say he writes better. I'm not saying his facts are better, or he is the one telling the whole truth, I'm simply saying that it is a better read. It is a page turner and you feel like you are the one living the events.
That being said, this book was also well written and interesting. We will never know the truth about what happened in 1996, because even the participants, due to exhaustion and hipoxia, can have conflicting versions of what happened. However here we could see Boukreev's perspective of the chain of events and understand the heroic effort he has made in saving lives.
I just think it is sad that 1/3 of the book is dedicated to rebuttals of Krakauer's attacks. I know it was necessary, especially considering that Anatoli is already dead and there was a consistent attack on his work ethic and moral. And for me it is strange that such attacks even exist, considering that all clients from Mountain Madness not only survived, as they also did not sustain permanent injuries, so what exactly is the point of questioning the minor details of Anatoli's actions, when indeed all survived apart from Scott. Just a thought.
Recommend this book to all those that like adventure, mountains, or are interested in the Everest in particular.
I had read preciously Krakauer's account of the same disaster, and I have to say he writes better. I'm not saying his facts are better, or he is the one telling the whole truth, I'm simply saying that it is a better read. It is a page turner and you feel like you are the one living the events.
That being said, this book was also well written and interesting. We will never know the truth about what happened in 1996, because even the participants, due to exhaustion and hipoxia, can have conflicting versions of what happened. However here we could see Boukreev's perspective of the chain of events and understand the heroic effort he has made in saving lives.
I just think it is sad that 1/3 of the book is dedicated to rebuttals of Krakauer's attacks. I know it was necessary, especially considering that Anatoli is already dead and there was a consistent attack on his work ethic and moral. And for me it is strange that such attacks even exist, considering that all clients from Mountain Madness not only survived, as they also did not sustain permanent injuries, so what exactly is the point of questioning the minor details of Anatoli's actions, when indeed all survived apart from Scott. Just a thought.
Recommend this book to all those that like adventure, mountains, or are interested in the Everest in particular.
adventurous
informative
sad
medium-paced
+ Having previously read Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer which focused a lot on Rob Hall's team, it was good to finally see what happened within Scott Fischer's team and see the events of the tragedy from Boukreev's POV
+ This was well researched and the added personal accounts from other survivors as well as Boukreev's enhanced the story and painted a more complete picture
+ The pace of the book was good and I liked that the story balanced both the days leading up to the final summit and the summit equally rather than it just focusing on the tragedy itself.
- Although the pacing was good, the book did not go not flow as well as I hoped and at times, felt disjoined and it took me out of the story.
+ This was well researched and the added personal accounts from other survivors as well as Boukreev's enhanced the story and painted a more complete picture
+ The pace of the book was good and I liked that the story balanced both the days leading up to the final summit and the summit equally rather than it just focusing on the tragedy itself.
- Although the pacing was good, the book did not go not flow as well as I hoped and at times, felt disjoined and it took me out of the story.
This was the first book I read on the 1996's events. I had not yet read Jons version of the events. I enjoyed all the information we received on Climbing in such conditions and I liked the details we got here, however, I didn't enjoy the constant stabs at Jon nor at his book. I feel like it took away a lot of the power this book would have had. I understand the motivation of the author(s), however, I didn't enjoy those sections (of which there are many).
In any case, do read this book as it provids an in dept view of that tragic time and an informative, detailed discription of what it entails to Climb Mount Everest.
In any case, do read this book as it provids an in dept view of that tragic time and an informative, detailed discription of what it entails to Climb Mount Everest.
I read this right after I read Into Thin Air, just to see the conflicting perspectives. Although the writing was better in Into Thin Air, this was an interesting book.
I’m glad I read The Climb to get the counter story to Into Thin Air and appreciate both views of that tragic day. From a reading perspective, this book took me longer to read than I would have liked and it was harder to immerse myself in the story.
Almost 4 stars, but the huge section at the end that was all a response to akin Krakauer’s portrayal of Boukreev felt a bit long and overdone
Before reading this book, my perception of Boukreev was essentially what Jon Krakauer and Beck Weathers had said about him, which was not universally positive. Here, he gets a chance to tell his story and clarify some of the things that happened on the Mountain Madness expedition in the 1996 season. Both of the other accounts I've read were from climbers on the Adventure Consultants expedition so Boukreev had some insights that weren't present in either Weathers' or Krakauer's accounts.
Rather than being just a self-aggrandizing apology for letting people die, Boukreev explains exactly what he had to do to make sure that as many climbers as did survived. He is haunted by the deaths he saw on Everest. He isn't exactly quick to blame, but he is candid about what went wrong. Some accounts paint that season as a sort of perfect storm of things gone wrong but it seems like there were some pretty preventable mistakes from both Adventure Consultants and Mountain Madness.
Rather than being just a self-aggrandizing apology for letting people die, Boukreev explains exactly what he had to do to make sure that as many climbers as did survived. He is haunted by the deaths he saw on Everest. He isn't exactly quick to blame, but he is candid about what went wrong. Some accounts paint that season as a sort of perfect storm of things gone wrong but it seems like there were some pretty preventable mistakes from both Adventure Consultants and Mountain Madness.