|
Within Reach: My Everest Story (Nonfiction) | 
 enlarge | Authors: Mark Pfetzer, Jack Galvin
Publisher: Puffin
Category: Book
List Price: $7.99
Buy Used: $0.01
You Save: $7.98 (100%)
New (36) Used (77) Collectible (1) from $0.01
Avg. Customer Rating:  65 reviews
Sales Rank: 217985
Media: Paperback
Reading Level: Young Adult
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 208
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.6
ISBN: 0141304979
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.522092
EAN: 9780141304977
ASIN: 0141304979
Publication Date: January 1, 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Review
Although Within Reach is targeted at young adults and written in a young man's voice, the writing (by coauthor Galvin) is engaging, and the story is rewarding enough to interest any mountaineer. Pfetzer, 18 at the time of publication, describes his summits of a number of peaks worthy of a climber twice his age, including Huascaran, Aconcagua, Ama Dablam, Kilimanjaro, and Cho Oyu. He tells at length of his two expeditions to Everest, where he reached 25,000 feet from Tibet and 26,000 feet from Nepal. Purists may sneer, as all these climbs were commercial, guided expeditions--but heck, the kid was only 14 or 15; how else would he get there? And, though a paying client, he was unusually well prepared: a karate black belt (at age 11), courses in NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) and high-angle rescue, full EMT (emergency medical technician) training (even though he was too young to be licensed), in addition to being in top physical condition, which he rigorously maintained. Pfetzer has regularly sought out older, more experienced mountaineers as mentors--somewhat rare for a teenager--and thanks them publicly for their teaching and wisdom. His love of climbing and determination to succeed are inspirational for all ages. --Donna DeShazo
Product Description
The world's most famous teenage mountain climber offers an extraordinary personal account.
In May, 1996 the media scrambled to document the gripping and inspirational story of sixteen-year-old Mark Pfetzer's expedition to Mount Everest. Not only was he the youngest climber ever to attempt the summit, but he bore witness to the tragedy documented in Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air, in which eight climbers perished in a sudden storm. Within Reach is Mark's extraordinary personal account of this experience, and of his triumphs over several other challenging peaks. In this suspenseful, moment-by-moment, first-person narrative, Mark takes the reader past the ever-shifting Khumbu Icefall, over three-hundred-foot crevasses, and up into the high-altitude "Death Zone" of Everest. By turns triumphant, by turns tragic, this story will be an inspiration to climbers, athletes and armchair enthusiasts young and old.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 60 more reviews...
 this book sucks March 26, 2006
1 out of 4 found this review helpful
this is the worst excuse for a book that i have ever been forced to read. its hard to follow and stuff. it sucks.
 My Everest Story December 22, 2005
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
How would you feel climbing the tallest mountain in the world at age 16? In My Everest Story by Mark Pfetzer and Jack Galvin that's exactly what happens. Mark a 16-year-old climber tries to summit the most dangerous and harsh mountain in the world. The mountain is described so vividly you can almost feel the wind on your cheeks.
This adventuresome, non-fiction book is written so realistically it makes you feel as if you were there through the eyes of Mark.
Mark's energy really got me wrapped up in the book and made me want to climb Everest myself. Mark's words and determination is truly inspiring and helps you to strive toward your goals. He's the most unforgettable character in the book!
Throughout this story Mark is on his "pilgrimage" to Everest by climbing other mountains to prepare for the ultimate challenge, Everest. In that process he is faced with many challenges such as money, leaving school for months at a time, and even death along the way. His Everest story is like no other anyone has ever experienced.
I found this story unique, touching, and interesting. Since I prefer fiction, this book was not a personal favorite. I found it was a hard book to read because of the vocabulary but would easily recommend the book to aspiring young adults.
My Everest Story December 22, 2005
Imagine climbing Everest at 16 years old with complete strangers. That's what happens to a boy named Mark in this book. The book My Everest Story by Mark Pfetzer & Jack Galvin is about a 16 year old boy who has a dream about climbing Everest. It is about how he trains very hard to get ready to climb. In the story, he also gets money from sponsors to climb mountains since it is so expensive.
In this book, the main character is mark. He shows many qualities throughout the story such as determination, confidence, and he is a good leader. Throughout the book the main character travels from place to place to climb with people. This book also uses vocabulary that some people may not recognize, so there is a glossary in the back of the book that tells you what they are talking about when they mention some climbing gear. In the back of the book, it also tells you about some of the other people Mark meets and climbs with on his journeys.
I would recommend this book to someone who likes documentaries and climbing stories. If you don't like reading a book with technical vocabulary, I wouldn't recommend reading a book. I didn't really like the book. It was okay, but if you like reading, adventurous stories then you would like to read about this boys adventures.
My Everest Story December 21, 2005
My Everest Story by Mark Pfetzer and Jack Galvin is about a young man named Mark. Since Mark was twelve years old he has been training to climb Everest. He didn't have any friends his own age, only his grandfather's friends. To get in shape for Everest he ran up and down hospital stairs until he couldn't run anymore. He also hired a trainer named Nel to help build up strength. Mark went on many climbs in order to train for Everest. During these climbs he experience so many unforgettable memories. But climbing can't be just all fun and games; he had to take all his homework up the mountains with him. He also had to go to summer school to make up some stuff that he missed. Will all his hard work pay off? Will e be able to summit Everest? Well, you will just have to read the book to find out.
In the beginning of this book I thought that it was very boring. As he started getting more active, training and climbing the mountains, I got into it. I play a lot of sports so it is easy to make connections to. In sports you have to practice, build up endurance, and most importantly, never give up. This book taught me a lot and it can teach you a lot too. There are many lessons to learn in this book. Mark also had many interesting experiences that he shared.
I would recommend this book to anyone that plays sports. It relates to most sports. Even though you might think that climbing has nothing to do with basketball, soccer, etc. it does. All sports take a lot of practice and hard work. If you are into this type of thing then this is a great book for you.
There are many different settings in this book. He travels around the world a lot to many different mountains. Mt. Everest is very cold but when you have all those clothes on and the sun is directly hitting you, it can become very warm. The climbers wear a lot of heavy gear. The gear helps to keep them warm but makes it a lot harder to climb.
Mark is the main character in this story. He is very determined, a great leader, and very caring. He takes on a lot of responsibility, but loves climbing. He always mentions that very few kids his age wouldn't even think about climbing. He always pushes himself to do his best and he never gives up. He knows that he can make it to the next camp or to the peak of the mountain. He also cares a lot about his family and all the support that the sponsors and all the other people gave him.
The vocabulary in this book is very tricky. To help you understand what the words mean there is a glossary in the back of the book. The glossary does not only help you with vocabulary words, but with some of the climbing gear that his mentioned. It helps out a lot. There are a lot of different characters because he climbs with a different group up each mountain. In the back of the book there is a list of characters in the chapters to help you. You have to pay close attention to the dates because if you don't, you will get confused. It is also good to know a little information about climbing before you start. When you are climbing a larger mountain you need to go up, then down, then back up. Climbers do this to acclimatize. This book was a very good book and I enjoyed reading it. I think that you will too.
 Inspiring! April 23, 2005
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
"You are there" with a young man who becomes one of the world's accomplished climbers--from terrified first rappel to the summits (and near-summits) of some of the world's highest mountains.
I had no idea what climbing was all about until I read this book. How technical high-altitude climbing is! . . .
I began to realize an Everest expedition is almost as difficult as a moon shot. And it takes almost as much planning. Except, instead of having tens of thousands of paid government employees behind you, and a couple of billion dollars, an Everest expedition is a very private affair . . . and costs "only" $30,000 to $85,000 or so. . . .
Great story. Well told. A sharply drawn cast of characters. Includes several parables-from-real-life for the thoughtful reader.
One disappointment: Why does this current edition, first published three years after the book was written, not include any further updates? Why does a Google search on Mark Pfetzer bring up no pages with information more recent than 1998? . . . I'd like to know where this young man has gone in the seven or eight years since. He was "planning" to summit Everest in 1999; he was "planning" to dive to the Andrea Doria in 1999: did he ever do these things? Has he become a doctor? Gone on to medical school? Ever dated any of those girls he hoped to date? . . .
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
