Fabulous read | Fallen Giants: A History of Himalayan Mountaineering from the Age of Empire to the Age of...

Climbing history | Fallen Giants: A History of Himalayan Mountaineering from the Age of Empire to the Age of Extremes | Maurice Isserman, Stewart Weaver

books:


	• Fallen Giants: A History of Himalayan Mountaineering from the Age of Empire to the Age of Extremes Maurice Isserman, Stewart Weaver Yale University Press, 2008 - 592 pages average customer review:based on 6 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

An Uplifting Read

This is an excellent history of mountain climbing in the Himalaya. Isserman and Weaver do a masterful job, not just of recounting the history, but placing the efforts in political and cultural context. There were long periods where access to these mountains was restricted or forbidden. There has also always been a competitive thread to the missions, as climbers tried for all kinds of "firsts." Of course the history is filled with both triumphs and tragedies, and the authors tell these stories in a most engaging way. I have only two small nits with the book. First, it ends in the mid 90s, even though the book was published this year. And second, while there are lots of photos and maps, I wish there were more of the latter, as I kept looking for the mountains, glaciers, towns, and other geographical entities. But these aside, this is an altogether wonderful book.

for more information click here

Fabulous read

I read about this book from a review on the New York Times Review of Books and I ordered it from Amazon. I am basically a hiker though I bought it originally for my teen age nephews but it too technical for a teen ager.

Highly recommend it.

Climbing history

Excellent review of climbing history in both Himalaya and Karakoram ranges. Not a picture book, but there are loads of them out there. This tome covers first ascents and failures, AND is well written. A dream book for this history lover. A real treasure and endlessly fascinating.

for more information click here

Needs better maps!

I'm about 150 pages into this book. It's been excellent so far but sadly lacking in one area - a good map of the Himalaya, from K2 in the west to Kangchenjunga in the east - and the many towns and villages mentioned in the book. It would have been ideal for the authors to include one on the endpapers. Then the reader could quickly flip there for reference. There are smaller maps throughout but many of them frustratingly do not include many of the place names mentioned. I have ordered the only map I could find - by Nelles Verlag - and will pick up the book again when it arrives. I actually bought it for a gift, so I'll be including the map with the book.

for more information click here

Fallen Giants

Wonderful, well written, interesting book. Held me fascinated through all it's many pages. Read it just after finishing "Three Cups of Tea". A good match, now I can understand the politics of the area and the difficulties of the climbs that lead up to the present. Fascinating how they are all intertwined.

The first successful ascent of Mount Everest in 1953 by Sir Edmund Hillary and his Sherpa teammate Tenzing Norgay is a familiar saga, but less well known are the tales of many other adventurers who also came to test their skills and courage against the world?s highest and most dangerous mountains. In this lively and generously illustrated book, historians Maurice Isserman and Stewart Weaver present the first comprehensive history of Himalayan mountaineering in fifty years. They offer detailed, original accounts of the most significant climbs since the 1890s, and they compellingly evoke the social and cultural worlds that gave rise to those expeditions.

The book recounts the adventures of such figures as Martin Conway, who led the first authentic Himalayan climbing expedition in 1892; Fanny Bullock Workman, the pioneer explorer of the Karakoram range; George Mallory, the romantic martyr of Mount Everest fame; Charlie Houston, who led American expeditions to K2 in the 1930s and 1950s; Ang Tharkay, the legendary Sherpa, and many others. Throughout, the authors discuss the effects of political and social change on the world of mountaineering, and they offer a penetrating analysis of a culture that once emphasized teamwork and fellowship among climbers, but now has been eclipsed by a scramble for individual fame and glory.

(20080915)

for more information click here

reviews: page 1, 2

hot