High: Stories of Survival from Mount Everest and K2 FROM OUR EDITORS
The Barnes & Noble Review
Stories of mountain climbing have an extra sense of adventure about them: No matter what story is being told, you know in the back of your mind that the action is unfurling at peaks that are dangerously high, with weather conditions and altitude realities unknown to those of us who have never been at high altitudes outside of an airplane. High: Stories of Survival from Mount Everest and K2 collects tales from the world's two tallest peaks. The stories are spread over the past 75 years. Alongside Jon Krakauer's look back on his infamous climbing adventures are accounts of the trials of two different British expeditions during the '20s. Life and death, survival and perishing are all examined in these stories; indeed, it seems that these mountain tales all serve to highlight the most extreme conditions under which life can continue. Shivering cold, brutal winds, and the idea of being absolutely isolated from most of the world produce epic tales of triumph and loss. High: Stories of Survival from Mount Everest and K2 is a thrilling read, and shows how humans deal with nature in its harshest form.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
In the first anthology ever to focus exclusively on the two highest, most formidable mountains in the world--Everest and K2--Willis presents 75 years of great writing, from Neil O'Dell to Jon Krakauer. 18 photos.
SYNOPSIS
Everest and K2-two of the most feared and respected peaks in the world. High offers a unique perspective on climbing these two peaks, from early exploration disasters, to the modern tragedies.
With writing from Matt Dickinson, Chris Bonington, David Roberts and others, these stories remind us, in vivid written accounts, why Everest and K2 are among the world's most dangerous places, yet why the worldss best climbers can't stay away from them.
FROM THE CRITICS
Climbing Magazine
This is a superb collection of some of the best mountain and adventure
writing of the century.
The Boston Phoenix
If you liked Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air, read this book.
School Library Journal
YA-A collection of excerpts from mostly real-life experiences that will leave even the most jaded armchair adventurers gasping for air and thoroughly waterlogged. Both titles depict humans at their most physically challenged in environments that they sought out but for which they were not necessarily completely prepared. High features Jon Krakauer, David Roberts, and Chris Bonington. An excerpt from Matt Dickinson's The Other Side of Everest is also included. A touching narrative is taken from Maria Coffey's Fragile Edge, in which the author recounts her visit to Tibet to find some closure over the death of her sweetheart, who disappeared from Everest's Northeast Ridge. Many of the writers in Rough Water describe such dire straits out on the open sea that one wonders how they ever survived to tell their tale. Memorable moments from maritime literature include a selection from F. A. Worsley's Shackleton's Boat Journey, in which the South Pole explorer and his men rowed 14 days across 800 miles of some of the earth's most treacherous seas in a small boat. Another classic excerpt depicting a heartless captain is taken from Richard Henry Dana, Jr.'s Two Years before the Mast. Readers who still have not gotten enough of the Titanic stories will be intrigued by yet another viewpoint from The Loss of the S. S. Titanic. And there's more. Bibliographies lead readers to the rest of the stories.-Cynthia J. Rieben, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
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