Rating: 
Summary: This book puts life in perspective
Review: An incredible book. Not because of his achievments (which are very impressive), but because he shares his wisdom regarding life. This comes from a man who's seen it all, and has seen life's ups and downs. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: This book puts life in perspective
Review: An incredible book. Not because of his achievments (which are very impressive), but because he shares his wisdom regarding life. This comes from a man who's seen it all, and has seen life's ups and downs. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: An enlightening book about a larger than life hero
Review: I feel that I got to know Jim Whittaker through my work with his identical twin brother, Lou, in writing his autobiography, "Lou Whittaker, Memoirs of a Mountain Guide." Jim and Lou's love of mountaineering and the lifestyle it engenders is infectious. Both books are a tribute to a life lived courageously and honestly, with great respect for the natural environment. These brothers, still identical twins at age 70, have attained many summits in their lifetime, and enriched the lives of many others along the way. As mountaineers are fond of saying, "The summit may be the goal, but it's the journey that matters." I hope readers enjoy the journey of reading about the lives of these extraordinary men.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book
Review: I'm a 20 year old guy about to graduate from college, and have thus been thinking a lot about the future and how I want to live my life.. I just finished reading the book and wrote in my journal about it, which will sum up how I feel about it pretty well:Wow... I just finished reading a really good book, a book that has brought together and solidified a lot of the things I've been thinking about the past few weeks. The name of the book was "Life on the Edge" by Jim Whittaker, the first american to reach the summit of Everest. When Chris and I went to the bookstore for our weekly visit, I was looking for an true-life adventure book, but I also wanted something that had a sense of "living" to it as well. I read "Into Thin Air" and it was like a drama novel, seeming almost like fiction. "Life on the Edge" hits much closer to home, describing the realities of a life well lived.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting and well written book
Review: I've worked for REI for over 13 years and had heard a lot about Jim. Until reading his story, I never knew just how instrumental his leadership was in starting our Coop. His humble leadership style is evident in his outdoor accomplishments as well, bringing people together of differing personalities in sometimes-dangerous circumstances. Many lessons can be learned from Jim in this book that can be applied to business situations as well as everyday life. I found it an easy and interesting read from both a philosophical as well as a hard core mountaineering standpoint. I read part of it on a backpacking trip around Mt. Rainier, and read it to my 13 year old son who enjoyed it as well!
Rating: 
Summary: A thought-provoking, inspiring story of a courageous man
Review: I've worked for REI for over 13 years and had heard a lot about Jim. Until reading his story, I never knew just how instrumental his leadership was in starting our Coop. His humble leadership style is evident in his outdoor accomplishments as well, bringing people together of differing personalities in sometimes-dangerous circumstances. Many lessons can be learned from Jim in this book that can be applied to business situations as well as everyday life. I found it an easy and interesting read from both a philosophical as well as a hard core mountaineering standpoint. I read part of it on a backpacking trip around Mt. Rainier, and read it to my 13 year old son who enjoyed it as well!
Rating:
Summary: A few steps above!
Review: Jim Whittaker began his life with only one real difference from most of us and that is that he had an identical twin. However from almost the day of his birth onward, his life accelerated beyond what is normal for most of us.
Mr. Whittaker enjoyed some luck in his life, particularly his ability to meet and mingle with some very powerful, influential and skilled individuals. He also enjoyed the benefit of his own hard work - from his days at REI to his climb on Everest and his efforts to put Americans on top of K2. He also had his share of bad luck, a divorce and a bankruptcy. This makes this story so much more entertaining because it is real, it is personal, it is something that could have happened to almost anyone with the drive and love of the mountains that Mr. Whittaker possessed.
The accounts of his alpine adventures, whether on Mt. Rainier or Mt. Everest or K2, are gripping, well written and harsh reminders of why mountaineering is not a sport for the faint of heart. Jim lost many of his close friends through out his life and the mountains claimed many of them. Despite any set back however, he pushed onward. This drive doesn't appear to be the result of a lust for glory or wealth but simply an extension of the man himself. In my opinion, his greatest successes are not the mountains he climbed but the peace and love of nature, family, and the mountains that he has helped others find.
This book is well written and easy to read and the pictures included are breathtaking (I wish there were more!). Reading this text will almost assuredly add a name to your list of personal heroes.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting and well written book
Review: Jim Whittaker is famous as the first American to summit Mount Everest. This book provides intriguing insights into the motivation and character of Jim, who has taken full advantage of the prominence that he acquired through his Everest accomplishments to pursue many causes important to him, including the environment, progressive politics and world peace. In addition to an extraordinary career as a mountaineer (first American on Everest; leader of expedition which put first Americans on top of K2; leader of Russo-Sino-American Peace and Environment Expedition to Mount Everest which put teams of Chinese, Russians, and Americans together on summit of Mt. Everest), Jim has been successful in business (CEO of Recreational Equipment during its period of exponential growth), has been actively involved in politics (as manager of Robert Kennedy's Washington and Oregon campaigns and other activities), has known well fascinating people from many venues in life (such as the Kennedy family), and has had to deal with failure and betrayal as well as success in life (divorce, bankruptcy caused by a dishonest business partner). This book is illuminating because it focuses on larger issues, such as the challenges of facing unexpected adversity and the challenge of making a difference with your life. This is much more than the story of a mountaineer. I seldom read the biographies of mountaineers and climbers because they are much less interesting than descriptions of individual adventures. This book, however, is an exception. I could not put it down.
Rating:
Summary: An American legend told from the first person.
Review: Jim Whittaker's book, A Life of the Edge, is an entertaining autobiography of the first American to summit Mount Everest. In it, Jim Whittaker talks about the highlights of his life with a great sense of humor. Unlike other autobiographies which tend to be dry to read, Mr. Whittaker sprinkles his tale with interesting facts and light hearted descriptions of events. Especially interesting is his account of his first ascent to the summit of Everest, in the midst of an incredible snow storm and the interesting problem he faced on his way down. His accounts are vividly described and would interest any mountain climber or outdoors person. This is a great book to read and enjoy. With the sudden re-surgence of interest in Mount Everest, this is not a book to be missed. Especially when it is written by the first American to summit Everest. A great book to include in any autobiography library!
Rating:
Summary: A great book - one fo the best on Mountaineering
Review: One of the truly great climbing books! The work describes this American Hero's life philosophy of learning and truly living. It describes how to take on an acceptable amount of risk and gain from the experience. I found valuable Jim's philosophy (who I met and idolized as a kid) translated into a world well beyond the mountain - into his political friendship with the Kennedy's, his professional life at REI and Magellan GPS; as well as his efforts to foster nothing short of world peace. I kept finding myself wondering if there was anything Jim had not taken on! The writing is considerably less melodramatic than a great number of climbing/travel logs, which is refreshing. Straightforward and clear, even when discussing the inevitable loss of life involved in mountaineering. A memorable quote follows: "It's about making the most of every moment, about stretching your own boundaries, about being willing to learn constantly, and putting your self in situations where learning is possible - sometimes even critical to your survival. Being out on the edge, with every-thing at risk, is where you learn-and grow-the most.
|
