Rating: 
Summary: Inspitation
Review: Erik Weihenmayer quotes Helen Keller in an implied dedication of his book: I am only one, but still I am one.
I can not do everything, but still I can do something.
I will not refuse to do the something that I can do. How appropriate that one extraordinary blind individual acknowledges an exceptional compatriot's will to achieve. Erik Weihenmayer published his book in February 200l, describing the grueling punishment he endured as the first blind man to climb McKinley, El Capitan, and Aconcagua, just months before his incredible summiting of Mt. Everest in May 200l. Obviously, mountain climbing illuminates his life-he was even married at 13,000 feet on Kilemanjaro! TOUCH THE TOP OF THE WORLD is more than a book about mountain climbing. It is an autobiography that poignantly describes Erik's gradual loss of sight by age thirteen and his determination to overcome all obstacles to live life to the fullest as a blind man. He says, "My heart burned with the memory of my heroes, people like Helen Keller, who took the world's perception about the disabled and shattered them into a million pieces, people whose stories made me hunger for the courage to live in their image." Erik has deservedly joined the ranks of our heroes, and his book chronicles the achievement of a truly amazing human being, who happens to be blind.
Rating:
Summary: JUST TOPS!
Review: Erik Weihenmayer quotes Helen Keller in an implied dedication of his book: I am only one, but still I am one.
I can not do everything, but still I can do something.
I will not refuse to do the something that I can do. How appropriate that one extraordinary blind individual acknowledges an exceptional compatriot's will to achieve. Erik Weihenmayer published his book in February 200l, describing the grueling punishment he endured as the first blind man to climb McKinley, El Capitan, and Aconcagua, just months before his incredible summiting of Mt. Everest in May 200l. Obviously, mountain climbing illuminates his life-he was even married at 13,000 feet on Kilemanjaro! TOUCH THE TOP OF THE WORLD is more than a book about mountain climbing. It is an autobiography that poignantly describes Erik's gradual loss of sight by age thirteen and his determination to overcome all obstacles to live life to the fullest as a blind man. He says, "My heart burned with the memory of my heroes, people like Helen Keller, who took the world's perception about the disabled and shattered them into a million pieces, people whose stories made me hunger for the courage to live in their image." Erik has deservedly joined the ranks of our heroes, and his book chronicles the achievement of a truly amazing human being, who happens to be blind.
Rating:
Summary: JUST TOPS!
Review: Erik Weihenmayer quotes Helen Keller in an implied dedication of his book: I am only one, but still I am one.
I can not do everything, but still I can do something.
I will not refuse to do the something that I can do. How appropriate that one extraordinary blind individual acknowledges an exceptional compatriot's will to achieve. Erik Weihenmayer published his book in February 200l, describing the grueling punishment he endured as the first blind man to climb McKinley, El Capitan, and Aconcagua, just months before his incredible summiting of Mt. Everest in May 200l. Obviously, mountain climbing illuminates his life-he was even married at 13,000 feet on Kilemanjaro! TOUCH THE TOP OF THE WORLD is more than a book about mountain climbing. It is an autobiography that poignantly describes Erik's gradual loss of sight by age thirteen and his determination to overcome all obstacles to live life to the fullest as a blind man. He says, "My heart burned with the memory of my heroes, people like Helen Keller, who took the world's perception about the disabled and shattered them into a million pieces, people whose stories made me hunger for the courage to live in their image." Erik has deservedly joined the ranks of our heroes, and his book chronicles the achievement of a truly amazing human being, who happens to be blind.
Rating:
Summary: Inspiring
Review: For anyone who has climbed or trekked, this is a fantastic book that will remind you of the pain, strife and ultimate joy of having endured on the mountain. Of course, the mountains are simply the vehicle for the story to entice people to read an inspiring tale of a blind man and how he deals with what life has thrown at him. Humility, humor and inspiration abound! You'll be touched by Erik and wish all your friends were as solid a teammate as he is. I loved it.
Jason Jones, author of NOMAD: Letters from a Westward Lap of the World
Rating:
Summary: energizing, inspiring reading
Review: I am the director of the blind program Erik attended at age 16(chapter three). I was impressed with the quality of the writing but even more so with the maturity of the man that shines through -- the touching passages about his mother and the relationships drawn so vividly between himself and the other climbers, his thoughtful reflections on life, his feelings for his grandparents, for his wife Ellie - his joy at Emma's birth. It is much more a coming of age book than a climbing book and as such will appeal to a much wider audience. Congratultions to Erik for taking the risks and showing us the possibilities.
Rating: 
Summary: A bit disappointing
Review: I got the chance to meet Erik Weihenmeyer last spring when he visited the gym where I climb and gave a talk. While he is a tiny bit on the arrogant side (honestly though who wouldn't be if they were blind and climbed the 7 summits)he also has a unique approach to being blind. A friend of mine was directing him up a route and said "reach for the big yellow hold", Erik responded "yellow huh?" I was a bit dissapointed with the book (I've only read the edition that does not include the Everest summit) I felt like it dwelled too much on being blind and other people's inability to get past the fact that he was blind. It did seem a bit like the book was written because that's what everyone does gets all famous and writes their life story. I would have liked the book better if it had focussed on the fantastic climbing that he has done and less on the fact that he couldn't see it. I think it is interesting that one of his climbing partners said upon summiting Everest "look at the view" that says to me that Erik Weihenmeyer is just another climber, I think he needs to realize that.
Rating:
Summary: My life seems so boring in comparison...
Review: I only wish I could something so cool at least once in my entire life. Some people are just more blessed than others I guess. I think his most boring day is still more interesting than my most interesting one.
Rating:
Summary: Exciting, touching story of a blind mountain climber
Review: I saw Erik Weihenmayer on THE TONIGHT SHOW, the
blind mountain climber, joking about how he attempted to teach
fifth graders who raised their hands whenever he asked a
question . . . when that did not work, he told them to call
out their responses--and all hell broke loose . . . I decided
then and there that this guy had something to teach me, so
I got his TOUCH THE TOP OF THE WORLD . . . it is
the exciting, touching story of his life, including how he
became the first blind man to summit Mount McKinley,
scale the rock wall of El Capitan and then Argentina's
Aconcagua, the highest peak outside of Asia . . . he was
married at 13,000 feet on the Shira Plateau, and he
recently scaled Polar Circus, the 30,000-foot vertical ice
wall in Alberta, Canada. I was moved by Weihenmayer's many tales of courage . . . also,
I frequently laughed at how he managed to find humor in
situations that would have gotten down many others . . . get this
book if you want to be inspired; I was! There were many memorable passages in the book; among them:
"That's ridiculous," I replied, but when I walked down the
hallway, I couldn't believe it [that he could locate an open
door when walking down an empty hallway]. I stopped in
astonishment when the confined sound bouncing back at me,
suddenly on my right, changed to open sound. I reached my
had out right and felt the open frame of the door. "Don't take
no for an answer when you're looking for your system," Carl
ended class by saying. "You may have to look beyond the
obvious, but you'll find it." And lastly I took a chance and told her that her going blind
wasn't her fault; that God wasn't punishing her, because I
didn't think God worked like that. I had thought it too, that
life was a punishment, made up of only losses. "Yeah, he
takes things away," I said into the speaker," but he gives
other things back and, in a strange way, those new things
can be just as good or even better. I think you just have
to look for the new things a little harder." So instead of trying to predict the future, I would rely on two
principles which had led me to this point, and one new
principle I was just starting to recognize: I would set myself
in motion, have faith in my vision, and never lose sight of
those precious moments of bliss along the way.
Rating: 
Summary: This man is an ass
Review: I've heard this idiot speak about his experiences, and right away, I'd perceived he was an arrogant jerk who was writing a book for recognition, not to neccesarily inspire other climbers. I was at a conference where his book was touted all over the place, and that's when I knew it wasn't worth buying. Please, people, look beyond the fact that he's blind and that he climbed some of the most difficult mountains in the world, and have a look at his personal life. As one other reviewer said, this guy is a jerk, through and through. I'm not even going to read the book, that's how sure I am that it isn't worth my time.
Rating:
Summary: The Character named chris at the beginning makes the book
Review: It was a flavorful read. I believe the character chris seems to tie everything together. He is a dashing young buck so to speak. I could read about him for hours. I kept wanting to know what Chris was doing when the minor character Erik was climbing Mt. Everest. My only suggestion for improvement would be to have more of Chris in the book. Otherwise it was a dandy of a book.
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