Rating: 
Summary: Mountain Man
Review: This book is Anatoli Boukreev's rebuttal of Jon Krakauer's criticism of Boukreev's actions on May 10, 1996, when three teams attempted to summit Everest. Krakauer's "Into Thin Air," of course, was the first of the two books published, was a best seller, and arguably is better written, and for these reasons many will consider Boukreev guilty until proved innocent. This book presents evidence, which I find compelling, that the actions of Boukreev that Krakauer criticizes were not irresponsible, rather that they were part of a plan, approved by Scott Fischer, to get Boukreev from the summit to Camp IV quickly to retrieve additional oxygen cannisters for the clients. Even before this book appeared, writer and mountineer Galen Rowell took to task Krakauer's treatment of Boukreev in his Wall Street Journal review of ITA. And in 1997, a year after the tragedy on Everest, The American Alpine Club's award committee unanimously voted to extend the Club's prestigious David A. Sowles Memorial Award to Boukreev. Clearly, there are many among the ranks of mountineers who do not share Krakauer's critical view of Boukreev's actions on Everest on May 10, 1996. Above I noted that ITA is arguably better written than this book. That is not to say that I found this book poorly written: I did not. Indeed I found this book provided more insight into the strategy of climbing a mountain such as Everest. Boukreev comes though in these pages as quietly heroic and a man truly happy only when climbing: a mountain man. I have no doubt that Rob Hall and Scott Fischer were of the same mould. For the most part, however, their clients - people ready and able to pony up the sixty-grand that it took to put themselves in harm's way and thus secure cocktail party bragging rights - are of a different mould altogether. Mountain man or dilettante, Everest embraces all. Bottom line: If the subject of the disastrous expeditions to Everest in May of 1996 interests you, then you should read both "Into Thin Air" and this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Loved it...
Review: If you liked "Into thin Air" you will love this one too. It gives the same story from another view point.
Rating:
Summary: A certain must read
Review: Hard to say whether "The Climb" is best read before or after Krakauer's "Into Thin Air." Both contain their valuable interpretations and descriptions of the events during and leading up to the tragedy on May, 1996.While Krakauer's book has an air of self-importance, "The Climb" rings more authentic. I found the reading more palatable and simply more interesting. I'd recommend readin both, but certainly "The Climb" were I to choose one. A great book.
Rating: 
Summary: A detailed retelling of a familiar tragedy
Review: In "The Climb", authors Anatoli Boukreev and G. Weston DeWalt team up to give their version of the terrible events on Mount Everest in May 1996. Readers of Jon Krakaur's "Into Thin Air" are already familiar with the outlines of this story, told from the viewpoint of another climbing team. This book is different in that it is a much more controlled, exhaustivley researched tale. In fact,the authors strain to include lots of detail, as if it was a gaduate school research paper. This detracts a little from the story, which is otherwise nicely told. Another objective of theirs was to vindicate the actions of the Russian climber Boukreev, who was criticized in Krakauer's book as being self-serving, when in fact he ended up saving several climbers' lives. There is a chapter near the end on an unrelated climb which seemed out of place, but the last chapter was very moving. Worth a read.
Rating:
Summary: World Class High Altitude Climber and Man You Wish You Knew
Review: This book was written primarily in response to Krakauer's "Into Thin Air." There is a heavy ring of truth in recounting and documentation of the May 1996 disaster on Everest, which makes me discount some of the "factual" reporting of Krakauer in his book. The story is gripping. Hard to put down; hard to imagine the difficulties and horrors of those dreadful two days. In the end, I found Boukreev to be a remarkable man, a superb climber, and courageous - without doubt, a person I wish I had been able to meet. He also was a fine expedition planner, and very aware of the pitfalls and dangers of high altitude climbing. Indeed this book could be used as a checklist for expedition organization. In 1997, he received high recognition from the American Alpine Club for his rescue efforts on Everest, and respect of members of the high altitude climbing community. We must, however, regret that he was tragically killed later that year on a winter climb of Annapurna on Christmas Day, dying before his public reputation was fully restored. This accident also prevented him from completing his mission at that time, to return to Kazakhstan to help organize and promote high altitude climbing in his adopted country.
Rating:
Summary: Whole new perspective on May 10
Review: I, like many others, picked this up after reading Krakauer's "Into Thin Air." I found the two different viewpoints amazing. I firmly think that you should not read either book without reading the other. DeWalt helped Boukreev write a good book. Although I don't agree with all of DeWalt's assertions about Krakauer, I think it is absolutely necessary to have Boukreev's story on the table. It is interesting to note that DeWalt didn't interview many of the other May 10 Climbers for this book, a gripe of Krakauer's. I would say that this book was written to tell one man's story, Boukreev's, not really the story of the May 10 disaster. For this reason, read "Into Thin Air" first and then pick this up.
Rating:
Summary: You Have to Read The Climb
Review: All I want to say is that I am convinced that Anatoli did his best in a bad situation. The Everest tragedy of '96' could have made anyone look bad. In fact it did! Read Into Thin Air and The Climb. You won't waste your time - Consider the two perspectives... Krakaur the professional writer and Boukreev the experienced high altitude mountaineer. Enough said.
Rating:
Summary: A readable yet biased account of 1996 Everest tragedy
Review: This is the fourth book I have read about the 1996 Everest tragedy. Both co-authors offer insightful and detailed information about how climbing expeditions are organized, funded, and executed. The book goes well beyond the Everest story itself and offers a look into the motivations and feelings of the clients, guides and organizers. The reason this is not a 5 star book is that it sometimes goes into too much detail to make a point. Usually the excess of details is to protect the co-authors' reputations or enhance their egos; and those sections could be easily dropped without losing the value of the book. However, for the Everest aficianodo, it is required reading.
Rating:
Summary: The Truth about the Everest Tragedy???
Review: Having read "Into Thin Air", Anatoli's book raises some serious questions about the validity of Krakauers account. Anatoli appears to have been the true hero on Everest fulfilling the function expected of him as the guide to get clients off the mountain. Both books need to be read to gain a balanced view of the events, Krakauers for the drama and The Climb for the emotional roller-coaster of the hero of the day. The climb is a must read for any devoted mountaineer both actual and arm chair.
Rating:
Summary: AIN'T NO MOUNTAIN HIGH ENOUGH...
Review: This is the story about the 1996 Everest tragedy told from the perspective of Anatoli Boukreev, who was one of the guides on the ill-fated Mountain Madness expedition. It is written almost as a rebuttal to the perceived criticism by Jon Krakauer (Into Thin Air) of Boukreev's actions on that ill-fated Everest climb. This is a poorly written account which is oftentimes confusing. It has none of the clarity of prose found in Krakauer's "Into Thin Air". It is, however, an important chronicle from someone who was there on Everest, and who had a pivotal role in the tragic events. Boukreev provides an insider's view of the Mountain Madness expedition itself and of the preparations which go into such a journey. It is packed with many interesting details which will delight Everest junkies. Whether Boukreev's actions on the mountain were irresponsible, in that he did not use supplementary oxygen to summit and immediately returned to camp after summitting, rather than remain with the expedition's clients, or whether he was just following the orders of the expedition leader, Scott Fisher, who himself died on Everest, is an issue which will long be debated in mountaineering circles. There is no doubt, however, that Boukreev did, in fact, single handedly rescue three of the climbers during a raging blizzard; climbers who without his intervention would have died. Given the extreme weather conditions, his foray up the mountain to rescue climbers is nothing less than heroic. Boukreev's is an important voice in the Everest annals, more so now that his voice has been silenced. On Christmas day, 1997, Boukreev died in an avalanche on Annapurna. RIP.
|
