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 enlarge | Authors: Anatoli Boukreev, G. Weston Dewalt
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Category: Book
List Price: $15.95
Buy Used: $2.23
You Save: $13.72 (86%)
New (25) Used (52) Collectible (1) from $2.23
Avg. Customer Rating:  259 reviews
Sales Rank: 19396
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 416
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.2
ISBN: 0312206372
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.522095496
EAN: 9780312206376
ASIN: 0312206372
Publication Date: July 16, 1999
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: LIGHTLY READ, PAGES YELLOWED FROM AGE, COVER HAS MINOR SHELF WEAR, PLASTIC COATING CURLED AT UPPER EDGES, OTHERWISE FINE.
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| Customer Reviews:
 All of Boukreev's clients lived... July 2, 2006
9 out of 12 found this review helpful
Like many others, I felt that Anatoli Boukreev was an arrogant man after I read Jon Krakauer's "Into Thin Air." But the truth is that he was the only one who saved lives during the storm that night on Everest.
The prose is choppy but honest, and explains why Anatoli didn't use oxygen in 1996, why he descended early and how his strategy in guiding the Indonesian team in 1997 was affected by his own health.
Also, it was refreshing to read about the Everest experience through the eyes of a superlative climber in the top form of his life.
A year after the tragedy, Anatoli returned to the upper reaches of Everest and buried Scott Fischer and Yasuko Namba. That doesn't seem arrogant or uncaring to me.
For further reading on Boukreev, I recommend his "Above the Clouds," and Maria Coffey's "Where the Mountain Casts its Shadow."
The Best Everest Book I Ever Read May 28, 2006
7 out of 13 found this review helpful
I cant believe the negative reviews by some readers here. It is either they are as stupid as Jon K of "Into Thin Air" or just blind to the glaring acceptance of the book facts by the mountaineering community. The awards from the mountaineering experts speaks louder than Jon K's book who keep harping on Anatoli's descent. Jon K should have concentrated on why so many deaths in his group. Anatoli's team only had one which is unfortunately the beloved Scott Fischer. If you have read "Into Thin Air" do yourself a big favor and read this book. IMO, Jon K's book is clearly about the big corporate money making goals. "The Climb" is about "The Truth".
 A Different Perspective, but... May 10, 2006
7 out of 10 found this review helpful
This is an interesting read in terms of fleshing out details surrounding the May '96 Everest tradgedy. There is a ton of detailed info for anyone curious about the expidition(s) in question or high altitude mountaineering in general. Unfortunately it is quite poorly written. The narrative constantly changes from third person (DeWalt) to first person (Boukreev) and while neither are particularly eloquent, read together the prose is a practically schizophrenic.
The tone of the narrative is also very defensive. Boukreev clearly produced this book in response to John Krakouer's "Into Thin Air" which was critical of his actions at times. I have no interest in taking sides in this debate. I do enjoy learning about the intracies of mountaineering and simply enjoying a good book. "The Climb" delivers in the former respect and fails miserably in the latter.
Better than "Into Thin Air" April 8, 2006
6 out of 11 found this review helpful
"The Climb" was written by Bourkeev and DeWalt as an answer to Krakaur's "Into Thin Air". While not showcasing the same prose as Krakaur's book, I feel that this is utlamitely better. My reasoning for this opinion is that "The Climb" seems like a much more fair and unbiased account. Bourkeev does not resort to playing the blame game; he simply tells the story as he experienced it. Krakaur, it seemed to me at least, relied to heavily on assumptions, and we all now what happens when you assume (hint: you make an _____ out of you and me) and came off as very arrogant and (for some reason) took a feverious dislike to Bourkeev and Lopsang. Thought not as well written as "Into Thin Air", "The Climb" still managed to draw me in fully, although some parts of the book are a little confusing, mainly the interview with Bourkeev about his single handed rescue of three striken climbers who otherwise would have surely perieshed. This interview was conducted in English, the only problem with that is that Bourkeev's English is not very strong! It is passable and most of the time you can understand him but in other parts it is very hard to dechyper. DeWalt tries to help by adding "translations" about what Bourkeev is saying but I felt the interview should have been caried out in Bourkeev's native tongue of Russian and then translated into English. To not have done this is a great injustice to Bourkeev. If you want to read a fair and unbiased book about the May 1996 Everest tragidy that was written simply to tell the truth and not to play smeer tatics and make money (as Krakaur's clearly was), read this. I really recommend you read both books, though and also check out the IMAX movie "Everest".
 A shame Boukreev's co-writer is so inept March 27, 2006
10 out of 12 found this review helpful
Whether you agree with Boukreev's or Krakauer's perspective regarding the events on Everest in 1996, the narrative of The Climb suggests that co-writer DeWalt was a poor choice to handle the retelling of Boukreev's story. DeWalt's account is limited to interviews with only a few of those involved in the events on the mountain, DeWalt frequently skews or omits facts (whether by intention or ineptitude, who knows?), and his prose makes for clunky and laborious reading.
Even the passages Boukreev "narrated" are ultimately a cipher; Boukreev's limited grasp of English necessarily truncates the story he is trying to tell. That DeWalt didn't have interviews conducted in Boukreev's native language, then translated for clarity, is a major misstep and a disservice to Boukreev.
Regardless which account is "right" and which is "wrong," Krakauer's Into Thin Air remains eminently more readable than DeWalt's stilted, childish prose. It's a shame that someone with more talent and journalistic integrity didn't recount Boukreev's story before he died on Annapurna; as it is, readers are left with a questionable narrative that ultimately sheds little light onto Boukreev's story, his actions, or his interpretation of the events of May 10, 1996.
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