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Rating: 
Summary: it just doesn't get any better than this
Review: Geoff is the 4th person who climbed the 7summits including Carstensz Pyramid. And his book is one of my all-time favorites; this guy is not only an explorer but a crazy adventurer as well. Great stories about the first bungee jump and standing on Carstensz summit without permit, but with penisgourds... Now there is a 2nd edition! This new and extended edition contains extra chapters about Geoff's amazing cataract surgery projects in the Himalayas and Karakoram.
Also there are new chapters about guiding &, other climbers: George Lowe & Rob Slater (in addition to the part about Lou Reichardt) and some older chapters are updated. Geoff shows that a life of adventure can be combined with doing great things for others. His cataract project has changed many thousands of people's lives, as they turned from being completely blind to seeing for a few dollars worth of materials and strong determination of Geoff and a few others. It's hard to say what the biggest adventure is: climbing the east face of Everest or being bitten by a rat while operating in Pakistan without lights, but one thing is sure: "it just doesn't get any better than this". "Dayenu" & "Kay guarnay" are 2 themes in this book written by an eloquent and smart pragmatic man. Just read it and find out what it means... then head off to your next adventure; who knows, it might just make the world a better place to live in... But the best thing about this book is that it's available again as it is not to be missed by anyone who has ever felt even the tiniest spark of adventure in his or her brain. Now in paperback, cheaper than ever, but richer than ever as well. ps: it's 235 pages (not 304 as [stated by Amazon.com]);
Rating:
Summary: More surprises
Review: Having read and enjoyed the first edition of Blind Corners, I became curious about the second edition from the comments Amazon.com provides. Sure enough, I am glad I ordered it. Tabin's encounters with the people of the Himalayas are unique since his adventures now include the way in which medical care is usually given there and the amazing way in which he and his team manage to cure blindness there. As another reviewer says, this read inspires me to think of adventure, and at the same time doing good, in my everyday life. It surpises me to be thinking about my life because of a book that is so much fun.
Rating:
Summary: What a great book!
Review: This book caught me by surprise. I would not have noticed this book on my own, as the title does not grab me. However a friend recommended it to me, and I like adventure books, so I picked it up. It is extremely well written, taking the reader along on fast paced and humerous adventures-from Africa to Antarctica to New Guinea; from the invention of Bungee Jumping to scaling the last unclimbed face of Mt Everest. So on one level it works brilliantly as a fast paced, interconnected collection of short stories describing amazing and crazy adventures by the author and by a cross section of his amazing and crazy acquaintances. But it is more than that. As I read the various vignettes, I found myself viewing adventuring from the unique perspective of the author. Not "thrill seeking", but as a life long quest to maximize life's experiences while maintaing deep respect for the physical and human landscapes encountered along the way. It also gave me a deeper understanding of the events and personalities that led to the recent tragedies on Mount Everest, a view perhaps clearer and certainly different from that gained by reading "Into Thin Air". Finally I was extremely impressed by the authors description towards the end of the book of the author's recent efforts to cure cataract blindess among the peoples of the Himalayas. These passages are not written as self-aggrandizing, but rather continue the themes of the rest of the book, atking the reader into a different part of the world with both humor and insight. Throughout, the book emphasizes that one does not need to go to the ends of the world or be a world-class athlete to live adventures. By the end, the adventure stories and the descriptions of the humanitarian efforts together left me inspired to think about my own life and how I might try to maximize my own fun quotient and perhaps do more good at the same time. Any book that leaves you rethinking your own life while fantasizing about doing more has to be at the top ones read list. This is a wonderful book-and given its limited exposure, it is a hidden gem.
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