K2: The Story of the Savage Mountain

Rating:
Summary: A great description of a high dramas
Review: As english is my second language (I'm from Quebec), I can't judge the deep quality of writing as others reviewers did. But I can confess that I was absolutely captivated by Curran's sharp but intimate description of K2 1986 fatal summer. His posture of total witness is the main fundation to this shacking book. Curran lived almost directly every event - and foremost disaster - that occured on the mountain at that time (Barrard death, the first climb of Magic line, Casarotto's last breath, Britain flop on the north-west ridge, Al Rouse and Kurt Diemberger stubborn persistence, the atrocious august storm on the shoulder which killed Tullis, Emitzer and co., etc.). Some corners may be fast taken, but most of the stories are describe with an unbelievable authenticity. I read it twice, and a third is on the way!

Rating:
Summary: More than a book..a trip to the history and adventure
Review: I've read many books about himalayas and k2 particularly, and this one shows in great way the whole story of the mountain, it shows how amazing was to finally discover a pass to reach its base camp after many years....and that's just the beginning.The rest is great.

Rating:
Summary: scary mountain time
Review: This book from Jim Curran charts the chequered past of the second highest mountain in the world. From the first survey of the mountain where it received its name to the events surrounding the 1995 tragedy in which Alison Hargreaves (and others) lost their lives, this is a chronological history of the mountain. It recounts the early expidtions (one including Aleister crowley, famed for black magic and general weirdness), through to the first 'real' attempts in the late thirties. The stupendous story of the 1953 american expedition where Seven climbers risked all in a vain attempt to save american mountaineer Art Gilkey is also covered in depth, as is the Italian dinosaur of an expedition that first reached the summit in 1954. Then onto the warts and all American expeditioins of the seventies, the Chris Bonington expidition that retreated after the loss of Nick Estcourt in 1978, and onto the 1985 calamity that cost many lives including Britons Al Rouse and Julie Tullis. Nothing new here, but what is covered is factually correct and interesting. If you want a concise history of the mountain, look no further.

Rating:
Summary: scary mountain time
Review: This book from Jim Curran charts the chequered past of the second highest mountain in the world. From the first survey of the mountain where it received its name to the events surrounding the 1995 tragedy in which Alison Hargreaves (and others) lost their lives, this is a chronological history of the mountain. It recounts the early expidtions (one including Aleister crowley, famed for black magic and general weirdness), through to the first 'real' attempts in the late thirties. The stupendous story of the 1953 american expedition where Seven climbers risked all in a vain attempt to save american mountaineer Art Gilkey is also covered in depth, as is the Italian dinosaur of an expedition that first reached the summit in 1954. Then onto the warts and all American expeditioins of the seventies, the Chris Bonington expidition that retreated after the loss of Nick Estcourt in 1978, and onto the 1985 calamity that cost many lives including Britons Al Rouse and Julie Tullis. Nothing new here, but what is covered is factually correct and interesting. If you want a concise history of the mountain, look no further.

Rating:
Summary: A factual account of the mighty mountain
Review: This book goes into great detail into how the mountain was first "discovered" and presents in a factual and unobtrusive way the major expeditions that have been mounted to the mountain. It outlines the differing tactics employed by each expedition and discusses the internal politics of some of the more famous expeditions. If you are the sort of person who loves the adventure of the mountains from your armchair, this is probably not the book for you. If however you feel drawn to this "mountain of mountains" and are fascinated about all the things that have made this mountain so difficult and exciting, this is your book.

Rating:
Summary: K2 The Unreadable Story
Review: This book starts out with a great premise; to tell the story of the expeditions to the Karakoram region of the Himalaya with the eventual climbing and summiting of the second highest mountain on the planet, K2. In the beginning the author tempts you with some history, including with how the mountain was named and how difficult exploration was in yesteryear. The story progresses to epic struggles to climb the mountain for the first time, then wends its way to the present,with the every increasing body count from continuing suicidal attempts to defy nature. So far so good. The author has an enormous wealth of information to draw from, and to paint a picture of the history of K2. However, he fails miserably. The profusion of names and camps and who is going up and who is coming down gets mixed in a miasma of poor grammar and storytelling. Some examples: Page 139, "In the event it was only four who had the opportunity, but this was to be a long way off." Page 190, "Now, just below the Shoulder, they were faced with a tent shortage and, in what came to be seen as one of the most controversial moments of the summer, they did a deal with the Korean expedition whereby they carried a Korean tent and some fixed rope up to the Shoulder and in exchange for fixing the rope above the Bottleneck they would be allowed to use the tent for their first summit push.". If you can read these two examples less than twice and understand what the author is saying, then you will enjoy this book. My opinion is that this is what happens when your friends do your editing. Words such as "learnt", phrases such as "to try and", and "caught them up", would have easily been spotted and corrected by any decent editor. In short, I expected alot from this book and was disappointed by the painful way I had to get it. I would stick to Reinhold Messner's books, and pass on this one.

Rating:
Summary: A book about mountain, tragedy and people
Review: This is an outstanding book for those who want to have a first understanding why K2 is such a challange and why it is called the Savage Mountain. It is an geographical and historical review of all the relevant facts about K2. But what makes this such a great book is the fact that as you begin to understand the "what's", "why's", "when's", and "where's" about K2, the book pictures a live portraid of a mountain, and the reader feels like K2 is almost like a live beeing. It is interesting how can one person admire, hate, love and respect a mountain like if it was another person.