Rating: 
Summary: Great Climbing book
Review: David Breashears writes a fascinating book on climbing that will appeal to those who climb, those who aspire to climb and those who live out their fantasies of climbing through others exploits. The book outlines his background and growth as a climber and describes his love for the sport from the time of his youth.He touches on many interesting aspects of various climbs he has made but they are better understood by reading the book rather than a review. The best part of the book is the story of his climb of Everest for the IMAX film and his participation in the attempted rescue of the climbers stranded there in the disaster of 1996. There are better books that describe the disaster itself (see Krakauer or Bokoreev for example). But Breashears interest isn't in describing the events of the disaster as much as it is in trying to explain the desire to climb peaks like Everest while honoring those he knew who lost their lives in the disaster. The tale is both fascinating and heart rending. This is a book that's hard to put down. While it stands well on its own, a reader who enjoys the book should take a look at the film that came out of it (Everest can be found in IMAX - it's best version - but also in a very good video version) and follow up with two different views of the disaster by two people who lived it: "Into Thin Air" and "The Climb."
Rating:
Summary: Good report on the 1996 incident
Review: This is mostly an autobiography of David Breashears. But since he was one of the rescuer in the 1996 accident, this book is also a very good first hand account of how that tragedy had came to be. Personally I like this book very much, because Breashears' writing was very inspirational. By examining his writing, one can't fail to notice that the author is a man with a genuine passion for the mountains; not to conquer them, but to be there.
Rating: 
Summary: Breashears is a bit much.
Review: I developed a passion for reading true accounts of climbing Mount Everest when my brother accidently left his copy of "Into Thin Air". I then bought "Left for Dead" and "High Exposure". David Breashears' account is not what I was looking for in a book about Mt. Everest. He writes with passion about that which he knows best...himself. This is more an autobiography and discription of his life than adventure story. What I didn't like is his failure to explore why he climbs. He doesn't drag the reader into the kind of madness that propels you to the top of the world, it's more like he sits you in his living room and shows you his slides. If you want something more Jack London, read Jon Krakauer's books, all of them.
Rating: 
Summary: Great to read how he became who he is
Review: The book focus on and has greater depth in the subject of climbing and filming. It felt a little too narrative and superficial sometime. One aspect I find lacking is the expression of his feelings and character. We know that David is not perfect, he admitted to be very demanding and could be rather explosive in temperament. But we do not get much insight on that but have to read between the lines to find out. Strangely, he talked much about his father, who appeared to be just an unpleasant distant memory, someone he had little feelings, yet he hardly mentioned his mother and how close was their relationship. He said that he had a great time with Veronique when working side by side with each other and he worked her very hard, but no details to illustrate. His marriage failure told much about a man whose passion for the mountains was much greater than his love for his wife. There is no right or wrong, everyone makes choices and bears the responsibility of such choices. This book is about how a man became what and who he is now. It has much details on how he climbed higher each time and how his skills evolved to be who he is today. But if you want to see the man beyond his achievement, you only get some clues, which only whet your appetite for curiosity. Maybe that's the angle of the book, to focus on how and what he achieved, than on anything too personal.
Rating:
Summary: Exciting stories, weak context
Review: This book reads like an exciting diary, but no more. My problem with the book is that it never provides much context, much history. It provides a linear description of the author's exciting life. It would be better if he would use the various historical benchmarks - perhaps the Mallory attempt - to provide some broader context. Even understanding the differences between climbing in 1924 and 1986 are ignored. This is perhaps because no significant research was put into this book. It appears lifted straight out of his diaries or memory. Mind you, I admitt it is an EXCITING story, but the writing is somewhat less than polished. Contrast my comment with A Walk In the Woods. In this story, Bryson takes time to explain the detailed context of the AT's history. He provides information on the Deleware Water Gap, for example that goes beyond his own diary experience. This is what is lacking in High Exposure.
Rating:
Summary: excellent
Review: Some people will say that David Breashears is trying to capitalize off the May '96 Everest disaster. No way. Breashears was an accomplished mountaineer and filmaker before that fateful day and will continue to achieve long after the general public has moved on to the next big thing. 'High Exposure' tells us about a boy who loved something (mountaineering), went after it, and grew up to be one of the best at what he does. Breashears is who he is in spite of what happened in May of 1996, not because of it.
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