Specify Regarding Books No Shortcuts to the Top: Climbing the World's 14 Highest Peaks
| Title | : | No Shortcuts to the Top: Climbing the World's 14 Highest Peaks |
| Author | : | Ed Viesturs |
| Book Format | : | Hardcover |
| Book Edition | : | First Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 368 pages |
| Published | : | October 17th 2006 by Broadway Books (first published January 1st 2006) |
| Categories | : | Nonfiction. Sports. Mountaineering. Adventure. Biography. Travel. Autobiography. Memoir. Climbing |
Ed Viesturs
Hardcover | Pages: 368 pages Rating: 4.09 | 8778 Users | 512 Reviews
Commentary Concering Books No Shortcuts to the Top: Climbing the World's 14 Highest Peaks
This gripping and triumphant memoir follows a living legend of extreme mountaineering as he makes his assault on history, one 8,000-meter summit at a time.For eighteen years Ed Viesturs pursued climbing’s holy grail: to stand atop the world’s fourteen 8,000-meter peaks, without the aid of bottled oxygen. But No Shortcuts to the Top is as much about the man who would become the first American to achieve that goal as it is about his stunning quest. As Viesturs recounts the stories of his most harrowing climbs, he reveals a man torn between the flat, safe world he and his loved ones share and the majestic and deadly places where only he can go.
A preternaturally cautious climber who once turned back 300 feet from the top of Everest but who would not shrink from a peak (Annapurna) known to claim the life of one climber for every two who reached its summit, Viesturs lives by an unyielding motto, “Reaching the summit is optional. Getting down is mandatory.” It is with this philosophy that he vividly describes fatal errors in judgment made by his fellow climbers as well as a few of his own close calls and gallant rescues. And, for the first time, he details his own pivotal and heroic role in the 1996 Everest disaster made famous in Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air.
In addition to the raw excitement of Viesturs’s odyssey, No Shortcuts to the Top is leavened with many funny moments revealing the camaraderie between climbers. It is more than the first full account of one of the staggering accomplishments of our time; it is a portrait of a brave and devoted family man and his beliefs that shaped this most perilous and magnificent pursuit.
Itemize Books As No Shortcuts to the Top: Climbing the World's 14 Highest Peaks
| Original Title: | No Shortcuts to the Top: Climbing the World's 14 Highest Peaks |
| ISBN: | 0767924703 (ISBN13: 9780767924702) |
| Edition Language: | English |
Rating Regarding Books No Shortcuts to the Top: Climbing the World's 14 Highest Peaks
Ratings: 4.09 From 8778 Users | 512 ReviewsJudge Regarding Books No Shortcuts to the Top: Climbing the World's 14 Highest Peaks
I loved this book. Ed Viesturs' voice (or at least the voice that David Roberts helps him portray) kept me interested and invested throughout. His focus on needing to get down the mountain even if it costs him a summit attempt is refreshing in light of what I feel is often the tremendous hubris that bites a lot of high altitude climbers in the ass.I was handed this book by a colleague, saying, "Hey, you're Latvian, too, aren't you?" Indeed, I am, and if perhaps my first spark of interest in this book came from that - Ed Viesturs' father, Elmars Viesturs, came to the U.S. very much by the same route as my own parents, refugees from the Soviet occupation of Latvia - then it soon enough veered far more to his achievements in mountainclimbing. I'd heard of Viesturs before. I'd seen a few film clips of his remarkable feat in summiting the
Ed Viesturs is kind of a dweeb, but I have to admit he's a workhorse superman. One foot in front of the other, repeat, repeat, repeat. He said at the top of some summits you have to take 15 breaths for every step. Damn
If you enjoy true story adventure books you will like this book. You journey with Ed throughout his life but the main focus is on his challenge of climbing all 14 peaks that are over 8,000 meters. He was on Everest during the infamous 1996 disaster, so he also recounts the events from his groups experience during that time. There was more than one emotional moment; excitement, fear, sadness, awe, and joy are all present during this book. There's a nifty glossary in the back for those unfamiliar
It's impossible not to respect Ed Viesturs accomplishments. That does not mean you need to love his writing. I found the book interesting, primarily because I am passionate about climbing mountains myself. There is a lot of back story here that, although interesting and possibly even necessary for a book like this, is a bit tiresome. I would have preferred to have had the climbs described in more detail. I'm not sure that would have pleased other, though. You can't win with a book like this.I
An autobiography of the first American climber who have climbed all fourteen 8000ers. It is not just chronological enumeration of what happened when he was climbing up the mountains, but it is also thrilling story, which shows unrelenting strength and determination of human. It serves as motivation for reader to chase his own dreams and conquer his own mountains.
4.5Engaging book by an amazing climber. Interesting to read his even and respectful account of the 1996 disaster as well as his other mountain experiences. One half point deducted for when I briefly ran out of bottled oxygen at Camp 3, reading about the minutiae of his corporate sponsorships. Otherwise a riveting book.
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