The Kid Who Climbed Everest

Rating:
Summary: Not great literature, but a gripping and entertaining story.
Review: (Presumably the book has been re-titled for the US market - it's published as "Facing Up" in the UK.)

Bear was 23 when he wrote the book - the text sometimes reflects this as he expresses a kind of undergraduate attitude and sense of humour. It's not great literature - not nearly as well written as "Into Thin Air" for example.

But he vividly describes the conditions on the mountain - from the squalor of Base Camp, to the brutal, painful fight at extreme altitude and it was this that gripped me.

I really enjoyed the book - and I believe it does add to the genre. He has a different perspective - as he says in the text, most Everest climbers are much older and more experienced and their writing reflects this.

Bear's book is a breath of rarified fresh air!

Rating:
Summary: Like a letter from an old friend
Review: Climbing Mt. Everest at the tender age of 23 is a great feat in itself. Only one in a thousand climbers under the age of thirty in top physical shape ever reach the summit.

What people don't know is that Bear Grylls had just recovered from an accident that nearly claimed his life, after his parachute tore at 11,000 feet during an Army training exercise. After spending months in rehab recovering from a broken back, he decided to follow an impossible dream.

There are few surprises here - you know the ending from the title alone. However, his tales of adventure, close calls, and vivid and very candid descriptions of life in the mountain will keep you reading and cheering him on!

Although his prose pales somewhat when compared to literary classics such as "Into Thin Air", and he lacks the experience and knowledge of legendary climbers such as the original "Kid", David Breashears ("High Exposure"), what he lacks in these areas he more than makes up in his enthusiasm, humor, and love of life. You cannot help but wonder what the older, more experienced climbers he is compared to - or even you - were doing at his age.

Rating:
Summary: A good read!
Review: I really enjoyed this book. I am a non-climber and I was able to follow the technical aspects of this book. Bear Grylls takes you onto the mountain with him- you experience the boredom of Base Camp and the day-to-day aspects of trek life, the fear of passing through the Icefall and going every higher on the mountain, the pure exhaustion and pain the body experiences when climbing at such high altitudes and the triumph of standing on top of the world. He allows the reader to see his fears, insecurities, hopes and dreams.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic! Wow!
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I felt like I was on the mountain with Bear Grylls. I liked how he described life at Base Camp and the pure boredom and anticipation he felt waiting for his body to acclimate. He allows the reader to see his fears, insecurities, hopes and dreams. He shows you that he is a real person climbing this awesome mountain. A non-climber can follow the technical aspects of the book very easily.

Rating:
Summary: A great book!
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I felt like I was on the mountain with Bear Grylls. I liked how he described life at Base Camp and the pure boredom and anticipation he felt waiting for his body to acclimate. He allows the reader to see his fears, insecurities, hopes and dreams. He shows you that he is a real person climbing this awesome mountain. A non-climber can follow the technical aspects of the book very easily.

Rating:
Summary: The Kid who Climbed Everest
Review: I've read better accounts of climbing a mountain. It's hard to make an Everest ascent sound boring, but this writer manages it.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic! Wow!
Review: so, so moving and honest. Thank god for such humility and coyrage. I was utterly gripped!

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic!
Review: Someone once commented on this book saying that they had "read better accounts of climbing a mountain" but in saying that I think they have entirely missed the point of the book!

I picked it up and was unable to put it down. Maybe it isn't the best piece of literature around but is certainly one of the most honest. I was gripped by Bear's account of events, emotions, respect, friendship and faith and finished the book feeling both exhausted and inspired!

I would recommend this book to anyone that feels they are incapable of achieving anything greater than life behind a desk.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic!
Review: Someone once commented on this book saying that they had "read better accounts of climbing a mountain" but in saying that I think they have entirely missed the point of the book!

I picked it up and was unable to put it down. Maybe it isn't the best piece of literature around but is certainly one of the most honest. I was gripped by Bear's account of events, emotions, respect, friendship and faith and finished the book feeling both exhausted and inspired!

I would recommend this book to anyone that feels they are incapable of achieving anything greater than life behind a desk.

Rating:
Summary: The Kid Who Climbed It Can't Write About it
Review: Unfortunate for Bear that so many other Brits who climbed Everest before him were also terrific writers: he coulda been writing about rugby or head banging for the sheer inarticulate reporting here. He doens;t seem to reach the same summit that Krakauer et al did.

A thick-necked account that adds not much to the Everest genre.