Rating: 
Summary: very disappointing
Review: This book is terribly written. I didn't buy the co-authors' self-serving claims that Mr. Boukreev was slandered by Jon Krakauer's much more balanced and more carefully researched book, "Into Thin Air." At first glance, the crude writing and plodding documentary tone of "The Climb" gives it a patina of credibility, but I soon came to realize it was only a patina, resulting from DeWalt's shameless, heavy-handed attempts to manipulate his readers' sympathies. Boukreev was apparently a great climber, but after finishing this book I was convinced he had an oversize ego and an overly thin skin. To understand how Boukreev-DeWalt shamelessly distorted the facts to make their case, you only have to read Krakauer's utterly convincing rebuttal to their spurious claims, which was published in the postscript to the 1999 paperback edition of "Into Thin Air."
Rating: 
Summary: best of accounts
Review: Like some other readers, I've read "Into Thin Air" "Left for Dead" and several others written about this May 1996 tragedy. I mainly wanted to read Anatoli's version because Krakauer's book was so negative. Realizing there are many ways to view one incident, I wanted to read as many accounts as I could find to get a true picture of what really happened. Anatoli was in the Mountain Madness's group, hired for his expertise and experience. This book is very detailed and shows his professionalism and dedication to the climbers/clients as well as the mountain. This is the best book I've read of this subject.
Rating: 
Summary: Boukreev was a hero, unjustly maligned
Review: The schism between those who believe Boukreev and those who believe Krakauer is familiar ground. I think it was absolutely necessary for Boukreev to speak out as soon as possible after the publication of "Into Thin Air". While Krakauer's livelihood as a journalist is intact, his innuendoes stood to ruin Boukreev's reputation and ability to make a living at the one thing he loved more than anything (including, as it turned out, life itself). To me, the best parts of "The Climb" are the excerpts from Anatoli's diary: they reveal a seasoned professional who expected and demanded much of his clients (which is probably the reason the Mtn. Madness death toll was less than that of Adventure Consultants). He made judgment calls, but backs them up with experience that's hard to argue with. Weston Dewalt is not an interesting writer. Krakauer gets high marks for readability and polish, while "The Climb" gets less. Toli's diary entries in an adopted language are more riveting than Dewalt in his native tongue. As it is, Boukreev was killed shortly after publication of "The Climb". At least he got his story into the historical record, so posterity can decide.
Rating:
Summary: Hard to put down
Review: I heard many people say how badly the book was written before reading it myself. I have to disagree. The language may be simple and at times may sound foreign but I found that it only gives the account more authenticity. Having also read Into Thin Air, I would recommend this book for a perspective at least, but really for the experience of reading it.
Rating:
Summary: Another useful viewpoint of the events of 96
Review: The 1996 tragedies on Everest brought much of the world of high-altitude climbing into public view (and it continues, a quick perusal of your local bookstore will show that there's still a large number of Everest and related books being published, as well as re-issues of some older classics, like Hornbein's "Everest: The West Ridge"). This book provides an excellent description of the events and insights from one of the key players in that tragedy, Mountain Madness guide Anatoli Boukreev. Most of us got our first in-depth look at the evens of 1996 from Jon Krakauer's work, either "Into Thin Air" or his Outside magazine article. And Krakuaer's writing is excellent, and he provides a tantalizing description of the 96 tragedy, as well as much introspection about his and others' roles in the events that transpired. However, Krakauer's work basically offers only a single view of the events. Boukreev and Dewalt's book provides a wonderful counterpoint to Krakauer's work, by presenting the same events from Boukreev's perspective. Instead of being merely a client in one of the expeditions, Boukreev presents events from the viewpoint of both being one of the paid guides (bringing us insight into how expedition decisions were made, how some of the logistics were performed, etc), as well as one of the key players in rescue attempts. And while Boukreev certainly isn't as polished a story teller as Krakauer, his work presents a fairly honest assessment of the events of 1996, and he is very forthcoming about the fact that he's calling things as he sees them. I recommend the book, although I wouldn't recommend it as a starting point. I'd recommend starting reading about the 96 climbing season either with Krakauers book, or better yet, Broughton Coburn's "Everest: Mountain without Mercy", which conveys the 96 story from the perspective of David Breashears, another mountaineer on Everest that season (who successfully lead his expedition to the summit), who provides wonderful historical context, color pictures, and a very sobering but detailed assessment of "what went wrong".
Rating:
Summary: The Climb
Review: The Climb by Boukreev is the truest account of what happened on Everest. It also rebukes the false accusations of Jon Karkokour to the fullest length. It is a wonderful example of what a moutainteer should do if he is in a position to help some one in trouble.
Rating:
Summary: The Rest of the Story
Review: If you've read Krakauer's Into Thin Air, you need to read the climb as well. Boukreev points out a lot of the errors in Krakauer's account -- errors Krakauer was aware of and didn't seem to feel it was necessary to correct since they enhanced the story. Both accounts are biased, but by reading both you can get an idea for the way things happen at 29000'. Boukreev is not the villian he is sometimes thought to be. Although he was unable to prevent the tragedy, he was one of the few who risked his life to save others -- while Krakauer slept in his tent.
Rating:
Summary: The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everest
Review: This is a must read book and especially if you read, "Into Thin Air", you owe it to yourself to read this book. Every story has two sides, and this book: The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everest by Anatoli Boukreev, G. Weston Dewalt, tells the other side of the 1996 disaster. It is well written and explains many missing details.
Rating:
Summary: A big ego healing story
Review: I had first read Into Thin Air a couple of months ago and became very interested in climbing Mt Everest and the 1996 disaster. I thought that The Climb was okay. Boukreev dishes out a lot of critiscm to climbers when they make a mistake, but is blind to his own mistakes. He makes himself seem like a hero. I thought that Into Thin Air was the best book about the 1996 disaster. Because he takes you step by step from seattle to the peak.
Rating:
Summary: Hmmmm
Review: I'd heard a lot about this book so I was eager to read it. But now that I have, I'm not sure I see what all the fuss is about. The events the author talks about are sort of interesting but the writing is not very good. Actually the writing is really dull except for in a few chapters. Also, this Russian climber Boukreev who hired G. Dewalt to write the book, he seems really defensive, like he's got something to hide. He sure spends a lot of energy dissing John Krakauer. I guess now I'll have to read "Into Thin Air" to see what the deal is with that, although this book doesn't exactly make you want to read a lot more about Everest.
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