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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
I remember working at BARNES & NOBLE and always seeing large stacks of John Krakauer's INTO THIN AIR appear during the "school reading season"; it was a very popular book chosen to be read by American high school students. And why not? A gripping, personal account of the 1996 Mt. Everest disaster that also tries to examine why people risk their lives to climb to the highest peak on this earth.
But none of those same students are required to read THE CLIMB. I think that is a terrible shame. Sure, Boukreev's account is not nearly as dramatically written -- he was an experienced mountaineer who, while fully experiencing the tragedy, also had a more objective view of the situation due to having summited multiple 8,000m mountains (without the use of supplemental oxygen) in his time before the 1996 expedition. He is a climber, not a writer.
And I think that he also had more than every right to rebut Krakauer's characterization of both him and his actions during those horrid hours and days upon the mountain. Whatever demons Krakauer was trying to exorcise from himself with the catharsis of INTO THIN AIR, he -- either unintentionally or not -- made out Boukreev as an intransigent employee who wilfully ignored his expedition leader, Scott Fischer, as well as the welfare of his own clients and cared only for himself. Yet, at the same time, Krakauer names Boukreev as a hero when he, on his own, went to rescue lost climbers out in the middle of a storm with hurricane-force winds, little-to-no visibility, after nightfall, and after he had summited and descended without the aid of supplemental oxygen.
So which is he? Selfish or selfless?
While I believe this book can give the impression that Boukreev didn't make a single wrong decision during the entirety of the 1996 expedition, he has his own grief and demons to expel, and hearing him attempt to work through the horrors of that night is just as emotional and gripping as Krakauer's, even if, say, the writing is not as dramatic. I also think that it is important to read both books, in order to get a better overview of all the scattered, moving pieces of that tragic night.
I can't help but think of the quote that there are three sides to every story: your side, their side, and the truth. In this case, only the mountain -- only Everest, knows the truth.
But none of those same students are required to read THE CLIMB. I think that is a terrible shame. Sure, Boukreev's account is not nearly as dramatically written -- he was an experienced mountaineer who, while fully experiencing the tragedy, also had a more objective view of the situation due to having summited multiple 8,000m mountains (without the use of supplemental oxygen) in his time before the 1996 expedition. He is a climber, not a writer.
And I think that he also had more than every right to rebut Krakauer's characterization of both him and his actions during those horrid hours and days upon the mountain. Whatever demons Krakauer was trying to exorcise from himself with the catharsis of INTO THIN AIR, he -- either unintentionally or not -- made out Boukreev as an intransigent employee who wilfully ignored his expedition leader, Scott Fischer, as well as the welfare of his own clients and cared only for himself. Yet, at the same time, Krakauer names Boukreev as a hero when he, on his own, went to rescue lost climbers out in the middle of a storm with hurricane-force winds, little-to-no visibility, after nightfall, and after he had summited and descended without the aid of supplemental oxygen.
So which is he? Selfish or selfless?
While I believe this book can give the impression that Boukreev didn't make a single wrong decision during the entirety of the 1996 expedition, he has his own grief and demons to expel, and hearing him attempt to work through the horrors of that night is just as emotional and gripping as Krakauer's, even if, say, the writing is not as dramatic. I also think that it is important to read both books, in order to get a better overview of all the scattered, moving pieces of that tragic night.
I can't help but think of the quote that there are three sides to every story: your side, their side, and the truth. In this case, only the mountain -- only Everest, knows the truth.
wow! I finally finished this audiobook after restarting a couple of days ago. It was so good and tragic at the same time. The writing and the storytelling were beautiful, and I really appreciated Boukreev's perspective on the events that happened. It was extremely sad when they noted his death at the end of the recording which happened in the same year the audiobook was released.
When looking at this book after reading Into Thin Air by John Krakauer, I saw a lot of comments saying that Anatoli came after John or tried to make him look bad, but the way it came off was he was just defending himself and the actions that he took on the mountain that day. It was a terrible and emotional event for everyone involved, and of course there are some disagreements over what happened, leaving everyone wondering what really did.
When looking at this book after reading Into Thin Air by John Krakauer, I saw a lot of comments saying that Anatoli came after John or tried to make him look bad, but the way it came off was he was just defending himself and the actions that he took on the mountain that day. It was a terrible and emotional event for everyone involved, and of course there are some disagreements over what happened, leaving everyone wondering what really did.
Good Balance for Into Thin Air
A lot of people have said this book is not credible because it's full of anger directed toward Jon Krakauer's account of events but I didn't find it to be that way. It was a good second perspective from the viewpoint of a guide on the mountain and it was nice to see Anatoli as something other than the villain.
A lot of people have said this book is not credible because it's full of anger directed toward Jon Krakauer's account of events but I didn't find it to be that way. It was a good second perspective from the viewpoint of a guide on the mountain and it was nice to see Anatoli as something other than the villain.
It was alright. I love reading Everest and mountaineering stories. I know the point of the book was to "set the record straight" about what really happened from another guy's perspective that's not Jon Krakauer, but Into Thin Air is just...better written, whatever the exact facts of everything may be. That one gave me chills, while this one had me interested but my no means enthralled. This climber is clearly not an actual writer. Not that it was poorly written, but more just...factual, plus it seemed self-centered and accusatory of others in the attempt to prove his own efforts in the Everest disaster. Found it worth the read and easy to read nonetheless.
I love reading about mountain climbing even though wanting to be the one-thousandth person to climb and having fixed ropes and ladders laid out by underpaid third-world sherpas hardly seems like a valid way to spend $70,000. Now Mallory's attempt is something else entirely. (I'm reading [b:Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory, and the Conquest of Everest|11602442|Into the Silence The Great War, Mallory, and the Conquest of Everest|Wade Davis|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320549883s/11602442.jpg|16544751].)I read Jon Krakauer's [b:Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster|1898|Into Thin Air A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster|Jon Krakauer|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320529390s/1898.jpg|1816662] and very much liked it.
This book was presented by some as an alternative, or rebuttal, to Krakauer's account. I have no experience climbing anything larger than small stone and so I have no way to judge the authenticity of either story, but common sense would seem to dictate that both could be right since they are both very personal stories told by the participants, all of whom were under an enormous amount of stress and whose perspective will naturally have been shaped by their very limited personal view of events. Krakauer was sent specifically to record events of that year's climb and was taking notes, so I would tend to give his account the edge. When it comes right down to it, I don't remember any substantial discrepancies between the two books and suspect that much of the controversy is manufactured for PR purposes. Much of that comes from the co-author DeWitt who tells Boukareev's story. In both versions he is portrayed as a hero; DeWitt's account just feels a bit manufactured. Of course, he wasn't there.
Boukreev's account is more measured and reasoned; Krakauer's has an underlying passion that drives it and helps to make it such a wonderful read. Read both of them.
This book was presented by some as an alternative, or rebuttal, to Krakauer's account. I have no experience climbing anything larger than small stone and so I have no way to judge the authenticity of either story, but common sense would seem to dictate that both could be right since they are both very personal stories told by the participants, all of whom were under an enormous amount of stress and whose perspective will naturally have been shaped by their very limited personal view of events. Krakauer was sent specifically to record events of that year's climb and was taking notes, so I would tend to give his account the edge. When it comes right down to it, I don't remember any substantial discrepancies between the two books and suspect that much of the controversy is manufactured for PR purposes. Much of that comes from the co-author DeWitt who tells Boukareev's story. In both versions he is portrayed as a hero; DeWitt's account just feels a bit manufactured. Of course, he wasn't there.
Boukreev's account is more measured and reasoned; Krakauer's has an underlying passion that drives it and helps to make it such a wonderful read. Read both of them.
While not as readable, This book about the deadlly Mt. Everest climbs of May 1996, like [author:Krakauer]'s [book: Into Thin Air] is a must read for those who enjoy non-fiction adventure tales of human endurance and extreme circumstances. [author:Anatoli Boukreev], the author was a professional climber with Scott Fisher's Mountain Madness expedtion. [author: Boukreev] felt Krakauer's earlier published account inaccurately reported his own actions and motivations.
The two books should be read together even though the narrative voices and intent of the autors differ so much. Without both perspectives (& those of the other survivors and climbers on the mountain that day) it is impossible to comprehend the scale of hubris or risks taken and subsequent courage displayed by the people involved, both living and dead.
Boukreev would later receive The American Alpine Club David Sowles Award, its highest award for courage, for his efforts in bringing Sandy Hill Pittman, Charlotte Fox and Tim Madsen back from the stormy South Col to Camp IV alive. Boukreev himself died Christmas Day in an subsequent avalanche in 1997 on Annapurna.
Two other books from a much earlier arctic expedition that required the utmost of its men are: [book: The Worst Journey in the World], a memoir of the 1910-1913 British Antarctic Expedition led by Robert Falcon Scott written by a survivor of the expedition, [author: Apsley Cherry-Garrard] of the expedition's disastrous outcome, and the meaning (if any) of human suffering under extreme conditions should be required reading of every ship's captain, manager, coach or person who puts them selves in a position of leadership.
Contrasting Cherry's book with [author: Elspeth Josceline Huxley]'s [book:Scott of the Antarctic] is the kind of reading Krakauer and Boukreev's accounts inspire. One book leads to the other as though a detective were calling and reporting in on what his next steps will be on a difficult case.
The two books should be read together even though the narrative voices and intent of the autors differ so much. Without both perspectives (& those of the other survivors and climbers on the mountain that day) it is impossible to comprehend the scale of hubris or risks taken and subsequent courage displayed by the people involved, both living and dead.
Boukreev would later receive The American Alpine Club David Sowles Award, its highest award for courage, for his efforts in bringing Sandy Hill Pittman, Charlotte Fox and Tim Madsen back from the stormy South Col to Camp IV alive. Boukreev himself died Christmas Day in an subsequent avalanche in 1997 on Annapurna.
Two other books from a much earlier arctic expedition that required the utmost of its men are: [book: The Worst Journey in the World], a memoir of the 1910-1913 British Antarctic Expedition led by Robert Falcon Scott written by a survivor of the expedition, [author: Apsley Cherry-Garrard] of the expedition's disastrous outcome, and the meaning (if any) of human suffering under extreme conditions should be required reading of every ship's captain, manager, coach or person who puts them selves in a position of leadership.
Contrasting Cherry's book with [author: Elspeth Josceline Huxley]'s [book:Scott of the Antarctic] is the kind of reading Krakauer and Boukreev's accounts inspire. One book leads to the other as though a detective were calling and reporting in on what his next steps will be on a difficult case.
If you are fascinated by the tragedy on Everest in 1996 and read Into Thin Air, you should read The Climb. Anatoli Boukreev is vilified by Jon Krakauer, and this book helps balance the story.
Yet another account of the tragic 1996 Everest season. This Russian guide came out a real hero in my mind. He was amazing and pretty much the only person who tried to help anyone out. It's a pretty incredible story. Good rebuttal to Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air.
If you read Jon Krakauer's gripping book 'Into Thin Air' - you should read The Climb too.
Both books cover the same tragic commercial climbing season on Mount Everest in 1997, when 8 climbers died during their summit bid.
Krakauer is quite critical of professional guide Anatoli Boukreev. In this book, Bookreev gives his side of the story.
The writing in The Climb is not quite as polished, but it's just as engaging and thought-provoking and provides different perspectives on the events of the 1997 Everest season.
Both books cover the same tragic commercial climbing season on Mount Everest in 1997, when 8 climbers died during their summit bid.
Krakauer is quite critical of professional guide Anatoli Boukreev. In this book, Bookreev gives his side of the story.
The writing in The Climb is not quite as polished, but it's just as engaging and thought-provoking and provides different perspectives on the events of the 1997 Everest season.