New history of Himalyan climbing--Fallen Giants

[B the Hiker]

Wow, it certainly sounds quite good from the review!

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/28/books/review/Barcott-t.html?ref=books

 

[Mohamed Ellozy]

Thanks.

Read review and ordered from Amazon!

 

[B the Hiker]

I'm currently reading Maurice Herzog's Annapurna which I'm finding engrossing. I don't own it, I got it from the public library.

Of course not everyone can enjoy a library the size of the massive Boston Public Library, which leads me to my point.

Buying books are great, getting our public libraries to buy them is even better! If people want to encourage others to explore our common passion, the best thing we can all do is ensure that this book (and others like it) finds its way into our respective public libraries, where others can stumble across it.


Brian

 

[Dr. Dasypodidae]

I'm currently reading Maurice Herzog's Annapurna which I'm finding engrossing. I don't own it, I got it from the public library. Buying books are great, getting our public libraries to buy them is even better! If people want to encourage others to explore our common passion, the best thing we can all do is ensure that this book (and others like it) finds its way into our respective public libraries, where others can stumble across it. Brian

Could not agree with you more. Many of us read Herzog's Annapurna when we were in grade school, and until Krakauer's Into Thin Air came out in 1996, Annapurna was the most published and read mountaineering book in history.

I picked up a copy and read parts of Fallen Giants (K2, Annapurna, and Kanchajunga) after the K2 accident in August, as co-author Maurice Isserman had written a commentary on Himalayan climbing in the context of mountaineering accidents and risk for the New York Times at that time. I think that Fallen Giants will soon become the standard reference for Himalayan mountaineering history.

 

[DougPaul]

I'm currently reading Maurice Herzog's Annapurna which I'm finding engrossing. I don't own it, I got it from the public library.

Warning: A great read, but the book is a glossy fictionalized account of the expedition.

Read also: True Summit: What Really Happened on the Legendary Ascent of Annapurna by David Roberts. http://www.amazon.com/True-Summit-H...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1222727238&sr=8-1

Herzog required the expedition members (many of whom were professional guides) to sign contracts forbidding them from giving their accounts. Roberts reconstructed a more accurate account from interviews and diaries of three of the climbers.

Doug

 

[B the Hiker]

Thank you, Doug. A friend read it and said it was good.

But I'm reading Herzog also for the feel of what he experienced at the time, not simply for the description of the events that transpired, if that makes any sense. Herzog, for example, talks about the "barefooted coolies" and the bright colors of the natives' clothing. As someone who writes history for a living, it's fascinating to me to read his descriptions of what he saw through eyes which a half century later wouldn't see or describe things the same way.

All that being said, it would be nice if it were accurate as well!

 

[Mohamed Ellozy]

Got the book and started leafing through it. I soon discovered that my knowledge of the geography of the area was inadequate, and that my world atlas was not really useful. I ordered, and have just received, Himalaya Nelles Map: Tibet Kashmir Nepal Sikim Bhutan which is excellent for an overview of the region. The scale is 1:1,500,000, which obviously shows no detail of the mountains, but does show where they are.