One Mountain Thousand Summits: The Untold Story Tragedy And True Heroism On K2 (2010) - Plot & Excerpts
Investigative account of the 2008 mountaineering disaster on K2. A slow starter--the beginning seems as jumbled as the oxygen-deprived experiences of those involved, but I found Part II riveting, when Wilkinson explores the Sherpa and HAP (High-Altitude Porter) perspective, along with background of those men. If you enjoy this sort of thing, I recommend Ed Viesturs' K2: LIFE AND DEATH ON THE WORLD'S MOST DANGEROUS MOUNTAIN.Don't know who Wilkinson's editor was a Penguin, but I found the occasional malapropisms and typos (I hope they were typos) distracting: pealed/peeled, taunt/taut, etc. Wilkinson was also suffering from what Mark Twain calls "literary flatting and sharping," where he uses "approximate words" to get at his meaning, like "extolled" for "exhorted" and "benighted" for "overtaken by night." Not a huge deal, but, like I said, distracting. Thoughtful review of the tragedy on K2 in 2008. Provides the backstory of the climbing sherpas and a thorough analysis of the events on the mountain. Most importantly, good discussion on the direction of the sport of mountaineering when people are being paid to fix lines above camp IV on K2 for employers who are racing from one eight-thousander to the next to collect 14 checks on a list. This is a much better book than No Way Down by Graham Bowley. I would skip No Way Down, or at least take it with a grain of salt - Bowley pretty much mailed in the research on that book. But it might be a helpful warm-up if you are not familiar with the people and events. Alternatively, look up some of the news articles.Book needed better proof reading.
What do You think about One Mountain Thousand Summits: The Untold Story Tragedy And True Heroism On K2 (2010)?
Crazy story but the writer lost my interest in the second half of the book.
—Aiko
this book was nothing short of spectacular
—Athena97
