Rating: 
Summary: A good memoir of a woman climber
Review: A good memoir of the first American woman on Everest. Enough personal information to get to know the woman behind the climber and gripping climbing accounts. A excellent account of two expeditions to Everest complete with interesting group dynamics. Although this is the only book on Everest by a woman I have read, I found it to comparable to anything ever written on an Everest expedition.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting
Review: A minority of mountaineering books are written by or about women (understandable, they comprising a minority of mountaineers).This is well worth readin, though unlikely to appeal to those not already interested practioners - armchair or otherwise - of scaling great heights in incredibly uncomfortable conditions. One aspect I was really interested in was Allison's no-holds barred depiction of some of the peccadilloes of those she is/was closest to. I think of Scott Fischer - the gungho boys-own daredevil with whom she had an unsuccessful attempt on Everest and with whom she worked. It provides rather an interesting insight into the character of someone who died in the infamous 1996 storms on Everest so vividly depicted in many books, most notably, Jon Krakeur's Into Thin Air. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but from Allison's portrayal, it's almost a case of "No wonder!"
Rating: 
Summary: One woman's strength and personal determination
Review: Collaboratively written by Stacy Allison and Peter Carlin, Beyond The Limits: A Woman's Triumph On Everest is the amazing, autobiographical account of Stacy Allison who became the first American women to reach the highest point on Earth, Mount Everest itself. In addition to the courageous tale of her 1988 climb, Beyond the Limits also tells of Stacy's personal challenges, including how she had to walk out of an abusive marriage. Beyond The Limits is the uplifting and very highly recommended autobiographical story of one woman's strength and personal determination.
Rating:
Summary: A great read and good information
Review: Here is a very well written book that provides you with excellent understanding of the climbs, and the climbers. Allison and Carlin are able to create with words scenes and situations, and the complex nature of both the climbs and the people who are drawn to climbing. When appropriate Allison provides brief explanations of equipment, traditions, and protocols; these help non-climbers know the little details that climbers take for granted,but because they are so concise and specific, climbers won't object. The material about her abusive husband does not detract from the narrative because it is so connected to her climbing life and need to climb. The only thing missing were more photographs and better photographs. Allison and Carlin know how to tell a tale that keeps you fully engrossed. Does anyone know if she ever got to climb K2?
Rating:
Summary: A great read and good information
Review: Here is a very well written book that provides you with excellent understanding of the climbs, and the climbers. Allison and Carlin are able to create with words scenes and situations, and the complex nature of both the climbs and the people who are drawn to climbing. When appropriate Allison provides brief explanations of equipment, traditions, and protocols; these help non-climbers know the little details that climbers take for granted,but because they are so concise and specific, climbers won't object. The material about her abusive husband does not detract from the narrative because it is so connected to her climbing life and need to climb. The only thing missing were more photographs and better photographs. Allison and Carlin know how to tell a tale that keeps you fully engrossed. Does anyone know if she ever got to climb K2?
Rating:
Summary: SPELLBINDING- BEYOND THE ORDINARY
Review: I try to avoid this platitude, but I could hardly put this book down. Among the many Mt. Everest tomes I have read this one is truly remarkable. This is an honest account of a monumental achievement in the face of enormous emotional, cultural and physical barriers. This exceptional person with an exceptional dream somehow found the ambition, skill and opportunity to achieve what no other American woman had done. She walked alone onto the highest summit in the world. But not without facing failures in the process. To simply say it took courage and ambition is an understatement. Yet, in her words, the summit itself was ephemeral and gone in an instant. It is apparent that in the end what is important to Stacy Allison is the pleasure of living and experiencing. Climbing is just her means of doing that. Her message is, "Look beyond the ordinary. There is always something more."
I highly recommend this book. It is a great story and well written by Stacy Allison and Peter Carlin.
Rating:
Summary: SPELLBINDING- BEYOND THE ORDINARY
Review: I try to avoid this platitude, but I could hardly put this book down. Among the many Mt. Everest tomes I have read this one is truly remarkable. This is an honest account of a monumental achievement in the face of enormous emotional, cultural and physical barriers. This exceptional person with an exceptional dream somehow found the ambition, skill and opportunity to achieve what no other American woman had done. She walked alone onto the highest summit in the world. But not without facing failures in the process. To simply say it took courage and ambition is an understatement. Yet, in her words, the summit itself was ephemeral and gone in an instant. It is apparent that in the end what is important to Stacy Allison is the pleasure of living and experiencing. Climbing is just her means of doing that. Her message is, "Look beyond the ordinary. There is always something more."
I highly recommend this book. It is a great story and well written by Stacy Allison and Peter Carlin.
Rating:
Summary: A REALLY good source for fact and fun
Review: The book Beyond the Limits may actually be the only book that I have read that can act both as a wonderful plethora of information, and as a really good story with twists and turns that keep the reader on their toes. There are many things about the procedure, equipment, and training that can be involved in all the different forms of mountain climbing. Allison paints a wonderfully vivid picture of the mountain scenery, her own emotional struggles and feats, and how it may have felt on Mount Everest in the Death Zone, trapped in a blizzard with winds over 100 mph. When I finished it, I did so with a much more knowedgable view of mountain climbing, a great respect for Stacy Allison, and as a satisfied reader after he or she has just finished a great book to cuddle up to. Its more than worth it, and can only help the reader on thier own mountains, real or metaphorical, that they may have trouble climbing.
Rating: 
Summary: When climbing was the focus, it was great.
Review: This book was read for a discussion group so the following is a "group" review. We had mixed feelings about the book, Beyond the Limits. When the book focused on climbing, it worked very well. Allison's descriptions were informative and the details fascinating. Unfortunately the climbing narratives are all too short and the endless details of Allison's personal life too long. While it was supposed to be uplifting that this woman used climbing as a way of reclaiming her self-esteem, it read more like "True Confessions". Hearing about petty squabbles and back-biting by team members made some of us feel sad to see how immature and self-absorbed some of the climbing community can be. Still, everyone found the book to be a quick, easy read with enough of a woman's perspective on climbing to make it worthwhile.
Rating:
Summary: THE FIRST AMERICAN WOMAN TO SUMMIT MOUNT EVEREST...
Review: This is an easy reading account of Stacy Allison's quest to climb Mount Everest, and in doing so, becoming the the first American woman to successfully summit. The book chronicles her introduction to mountain climbing, as well as her own personal demons. When going into some of the personal details of her life outside of mountain climbing, the book stalls, as the tawdry details are not particularly noteworthy, nor interesting to anyone except, perhaps, Stacy. While she may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, however, she sure is one of the pluckiest. When it moves on to the mountaineering aspects of her life, there are enough interesting details to delight any climbing enthusiast. The descriptions of the two Everest expeditions with which she was involved, including the one in which she reached the summit, are intriguing enough to thrill any Everest junkie. The traveling, the mountaineering elite with whom she was in contact, the sherpas, and the day to day business of being on an expedition, are all vividly described, providing an engrossing chronicle of her experiences.Written in a breezy, conversational tone, this book is sure to delight many readers.
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