High Exposure: An Enduring Passion for Everest and Unforgiving Places

Rating:
Summary: Best of the Bunch
Review: Having read almost every book in print regarding Everest mountaineering in the 1990's, and many accounts of Himalayan and "Seven Summits" climbin in general, I consider this work one of the best. Breashears' experiences in the mountains are vividly recounted, including his participation in the 1994 tragedy on Everest. This account differs from those of other authors (like Jon Krakauer's solo work "Into Thin Air" and Anatoly Boukreev's "The Climb") most notably in being authored by an individual both "one step removed" from the tragedy itself, in the sense that Breashears was not himself in the eye of the storm, who nonetheless acted heroically in the face of developing need. Breashears is able to provide a "third-party" account which is telling without being judgmental; I highly recommend this book for anyone who has read other accounts of the '94 disaster.

Rating:
Summary: Good story, sappy narration (AUDIO BOOK REVIEW)
Review: While the bulk of this story is 4/5 star material, the author writes as if he thinks the reader cares about his personal life. As read by the narrator, this story is overdramatic and too touchy-feely. The author restores the listeners' opinion of him by reading a bit at the end of the story, but overall, it is too late. The narrator comes very close to killing the whole experience.

Rating:
Summary: Climbing Everest for the Right Reasons
Review: As one of the few superlative places on earth (the world's highest mountain) Everest has always attracted personality types whose chief characteristic has been an excess of hubris couple with a vast underestimation of what it takes to stay alive on the mountain's flanks. And who can blame them? When even socialites can be dragged up by hired guns and down again, who is to say that anyone can't conquer this symbol of the ultimate? David Breashears is one who can say, and say it he does, in this fascinating autobiography of the life of one born to climb. The book recounts his adolescence as a '70s climbing hippy bouncing from one temporary job to another, each undertaken not to build a career, but to generate the small amount of cash necessary to buy climbing gear and sustain himself in order to make the next few climbs. The account of being a oilfield roughneck paints a chilling picture of an entire community of violent men on the fringes of sanity, portrayed with the literary skill of George Orwell's "Down and Out in Paris & London." Unlike the recent burst of books by amateur climbers (including this writer) who try to climb "The Hill" more as tourists sheltered by the likes of Breashears, David's account is not one of a dysfunction personalities hoping to be cured by dreamed conquests. Rather, his climbing life has been more like an artist compelled to experiment with paints, and with each canvas, daring to use more brilliant color and broader more vigorous strokes. Soon the canvases of his youth are found to be too confining, and he reaches out to make his mark on the largest around. Next thing you know, he's climbed to the summit of Everest four times. Reading about Breashear's life allows one to see through the mantel of macho invincibility in which so many Everest mavens enjoy wrapping themselves. And realize that while there are many wrong reasons to repeatedly tackle extreme Himalayan peaks, David Breashears is one of the few who do so for the right reasons.

Rating:
Summary: He's Really Good at One Thing and It's Not Relationships
Review: I always enjoy reading about people's adventures, large and small, and I enjoyed this book as well. Breashears is a great mountaineer and has the will and ability to conquer many challenges. However, as the chapters pass, and Breashears earns my respect and compassion through his experiences, he loses the "heroic" label with me when it came to his marriage. His lack of effort to understand and nurture his relationship to Veronique places him in the "workaholic" category with me. I should write an autobiography about my successful marriage and failed attempts at mountaineering. All in all it is a good read and we are only human, even Breashers.

Rating:
Summary: The human being behind the hero
Review: I have long believed that real heroes, those among us who fail and perservere, create and inspire, reach out and give back, are best illuminated against a backdrop of imperfection. David Breashears' book serves simply to reinforce my belief. Despite a brutal father and difficult childhood, Breashears was able to translate his psychic wounds into significant art and thought, and has not only managed to pursue his dreams, but he has also written an honest, insightful, and unselfish book unfettered by bravado. As a non-climber, I appreciate that he does not take his readers for granted by assuming an audience of his peers. The attention he pays to details, effortlessly explaining the technical aspects of a climb, from preparation and training to the proper use of equipment and the rating system are all indicative of his ability and willingness to reach outside himself not only to entertain, but to inform and share with others the meaning of his life in the mountains. His work has long inspired me to reach beyond myself, to give to others what I can. His work has meaning that goes beyond rock and ice. He makes a difference, and for that he needs to take a bow.

Rating:
Summary: Breashears' Adventures are fascinating and illuminating
Review: David Breashears has been to Mount Everest eleven times. That's more times than I have visited our local SuperMegaMall. But yet from reading High Exposure, each trip to the Himalayas was far from routine. They all tested the limits of human endurance and perseverence. His eloquence in recounting his life reveals a man of character and discipline, but also a man who has regrets and self doubts. I particularly appreciated his recounting of his early years. Breashears lived in geographic proximity to me (he is an alumnus of my high school), but existed in a vastly different world, the "vertical world". Climbing and bouldering in Eldorado Springs and Boulder Canyon as well as roughnecking in Wyoming were all important in his development into the climber, cinematographer and expedition leader that he became. In High Exposure, David Breashears stands proudly among the growing number of men who have attempted to portray to we laymen the bizarre lifestyle of mountain climbers.

Rating:
Summary: An amazing look into the life of an adventurer!
Review: Unlike the breath-taking, heart-stopping action of Jon Krakauer's "Into Thin Air", Breashears takes his readers into his own psyche--that of a man driven by a sense of challenge, but with knowledge and discipline. One can only marvel at Breashear's accomplishments in the fields of climbing and film-making. His many colleagues who shared his lifetime of adventure also merit a sense of awe. There was one piece of Breashears life story that left me a bit uncomfortable, though. Was the beautiful Veronique truly that unimportant to his life to deserve just a passing mention? Other than that, I found the story of Breashear's progression from cliff-scaler to cameraman to mountain climber a fascinating story.

Rating:
Summary: TWO THUMBS DOWN
Review: Let's see, the decision-making and wisdom of Rob Hall and Scott Fischer are questioned, but the author sees nothing ridiculous about Sandy Hill's outrageous behavior? I agree with the earlier reviewer--there's something amiss with this book.

Rating:
Summary: from common man to uncommon mountaineer
Review: I have had the priviledge of meeting David Breashers on two occasions and find his personal presence as well as this book to be one of quiet affirmation to pursue one's dreams. His honesty in the opening chapters of the book tell the tale of a young boy and later a young man who was indistinguishable from his peers yet laden with a private burden. To rise from this into one of the world's foremost high altitude cinematagraphers is a rich, yet humble encouragment for others to set high goals for themselves as life unfolds. This is a wonderful read, well written, honest, and inspiring. It's a story I'll come back to and read again over the years. Thanks David.

Rating:
Summary: Thanks for giving me a new goal in life!
Review: Like another reader who submitted a review, "Into Thin Air" was the first book about climbing I had ever read. In 1996, as the Mt. Everest tragedy unfolded on the news, I was filled with misdirected anger at the people who, in my opinion, had sacrificed their own lives and ruined the lives of their survivors in an egotistical attempt to prove themselves. After reading "Into Thin Air" and then "High Exposure," I can completely understand the quest. Although I'm well past my climbing days, I now feel a strong pull to trek to Mt. Everest and see and feel its magnificence.

The biographical information gives us an important glimpse into the psyche of the climber.