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Summary: Incredible pathos and humanity (and mountaineering!)
Review: I have given this book to two climbing friends to read. I enjoy Messner's and Bonington's accounts and thought Krakauer's "Into Thin Air" the best written of many books of this sort, but if you want to REALLY shed tears for the challenge of climbing an "8-thousander" there is absolutely nothing to match Maurice Herzog! I think he has written two other books, but they do not seem to be available from Amazon.
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Summary: What! - A Likeable Mountaineer!
Review: I read this book and passed it on some months ago, so while I have had time to digest its overall impact, I have forgotten specific details I could cite. In particular I wish I could quote Herzog's poetic summit musings. This must be left to be rediscovered...what has stayed with me the most is how likeable M. Herzog is. His humorously low-key impressions of avalanche and other disasters seems genuine and is winning. For me this was proven by how I was moved to tears at his account of ghastly frostbite treatments (arterial injections!) and his painful, dreamlike trek out of the Annapurna region. The only flaw of the book worth mention (aside from the mediocre quality of the maps in the edition I had) is that the initial reconnaissance of the expedition in the Dhaulagiri - Annapurna area, and the other preparatory phases of the mission are dull and tend to stall the reading pace. However, once the climbing was on in earnest I was caught! This book definitely belongs in any serious personal library of mountaineering classics.
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Summary: All that was left was pain and disillusionment
Review: I was lucky enough to have a tattered copy of this given to me while in Nepal, which may have coloured my impressions. Nonetheless, I found this book---to beat a cliche to death---riveting. Herzog writes with clarity and his style is both engaging and informative. He basically started the whole "mountain was there and we climbed it" sub-genre of outdoor literature. His matter of fact descriptions of some of the consequences of the climb (finger and toe amputations from frostbite) are wrap-yourself-in-a-blanket-and-shudder evocative. If you have even a passing interest in mountain literature, this deserves pride of place on your bookshelf.
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Summary: Seminal work.
Review: I was lucky enough to have a tattered copy of this given to me while in Nepal, which may have coloured my impressions. Nonetheless, I found this book---to beat a cliche to death---riveting. Herzog writes with clarity and his style is both engaging and informative. He basically started the whole "mountain was there and we climbed it" sub-genre of outdoor literature. His matter of fact descriptions of some of the consequences of the climb (finger and toe amputations from frostbite) are wrap-yourself-in-a-blanket-and-shudder evocative. If you have even a passing interest in mountain literature, this deserves pride of place on your bookshelf.
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Summary: Lachenal, Terray, Rebuffat -- the Real Heroes of Annapurna
Review: I wish I could give this book negative stars! Herzog's self-serving account of the Annapurna expedition has dominated a generation of climbing lore but it does not tell the real story. If you are considering reading this book, please find and read the accounts of the other Annapurna expedition members: legendary mountain guides Lionel Terray and Gaston Rebuffat .... and especially Louis Lachenal, "the panther of the snows," who was recognized (despite being crippled on Annapurna at only 28) as the most brilliant mountaineer of his generation. Herzog was the least technically able member of the two lead ropes on Annapurna and the only amateur, but he was selected as the expedition leader by the organizers (i.e., financial backers). Before they left France, Herzog made the other climbers sign an oath of silence that they would not speak or write about Annapurna for five years after their return. The result: Herzog's lionization as the "Great White Chief" of the expedition--and, worst of all, Herzog's dastardly attempts to put down and silence Lachenal, who sacrificed his own feet to get Herzog to the summit and bring him off the mountain alive. Herzog's account of the expedition in Annapurna played to the French public's need for heroes in the post-war era and established Herzog as a national idol (Rebuffat would later write disgustedly about Herzog's "miserable pedestal"). But Herzog told a nationalistic fairy tale that ignored the serious conflicts among the team members and the fact that (Rebuffat again): "Lachenal was the guide [on Annapurna], and Herzog the client." When Lachenal died in 1955, only months before the end of Herzog's gag order, he was preparing to publish his own journals of the expedition ("Carnets du Vertige"). Herzog got control of the manuscript after Lachenal's death (another ugly story) and published a heavily edited posthumous version omitting all the parts that conflicted with Herzog's original account. Now, Lachenal's unedited journals have finally been published--and they are shaking up the climbing world by revealing the not-so-inspiring story of Annapurna that the other team members hinted at all along. Lachenal's account makes clear that Herzog was delirious and totally disoriented long before they summitted. It also describes Herzog's insane obsession with taking photos on the summit (all of Herzog naturally!) despite Lachenal's warnings that they were getting more and more frostbitten, a storm was coming, and every second made it less likely they would get down alive. Most poignantly, Lachenal explains that he knew on the way up neither he nor Herzog were in fit shape to continue, but that Herzog refused to turn back. Lachenal went on to the summit, "though I knew it would cost me," because he also knew Herzog could never get down alive without him -- a pure and total sacrifice which had nothing to do with ambition and self-aggrandisement but was, in Lachenal's own words, "an affair of the rope." Everyone who wants to know the real story of Annapurna should read Lachenal's journals -- and also Lionel Terray's wonderful book "Conquistadors of the Useless." Terray, who went on to conquer Makalu, the Fitzroy and other great peaks, gives perhaps the most knowleagable and objective account of the Annapurna expedition. He also tells the unforgettable story of the Lachenal-Terray rope -- the most famous climbing team of their generation -- from their brilliant ascents in the Alps, to the nightmarish retreat from Annapurna (where Terray gave up his own boots in a desperate attempt to save Lachenal's feet from amputation), to the travesty of their "victorious" return to France with Terray carrying the mutilated Lachenal in his arms. Terray's heartbreaking homage to Lachenal--"the eagle whose wings were clipped on Annapurna"--gives a true picture of what the "friendship of the rope" is all about, from a legendary mountaineer who was ready to give his life for it every time he roped up. So read them all -- Terray, Lachenal, Rebuffat, Herzog. Then make up your mind who YOU believe -- and who the real heroes of Annapurna were.
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Summary: Captures the best that climbing (and climbers!) can be.
Review: If you ever had the feeling that something was not quite right with the band of isolated individuals plodding up Everest and abandoning their colleagues in "Into Thin Air", then "Annapurna" is for you. This story of comradery, trial and triumph, and pain and sacrifice has probably inspired more people to grab a rope and head for the mountains than any other book. Although the tools of climbing have changed dramatically since Maurice Herzog wrote this book, his words still capture the essence of climbing.
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Summary: Looking for the mountain...
Review: In an age of satellite photography, GPS, data links, etc, it is fascinating how these climbers spend day after day TRYING TO FIND one of the tallest peaks in the world! All the maps are wrong, and figuring out where Annapurna is becomes a major obstacle to climbing it!!
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Summary: Must read this book!
Review: It is a climbing classic. A must read for anyone who is into mountaineering and/or technical climbing...even the fair weather climber should read this.
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Summary: An incredible account of human toughness
Review: It is necessary to read this account as if your were going on a journey yourself. Slow at first and flying by the end. This '50s narrative is less prurient than contemporary accounts of heroic ventures. Yet, the hardships endured were just incredible. A great read.
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Summary: Thouroughly enjoyed it!
Review: It was fascinating to see what mountaineering was like before the days of helicopters, satellite phones, and computers! The language is technical and you'll learn a lot of cool climbing lingo!
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