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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The BEST book about THE 14 EIGTH THOUSANDERS, October 10, 2001
This review is from: All Fourteen 8,000ers (Hardcover)
This is one the best books about mountaineering that I have and I do have a lot of them. It just has it all, about all the 14 eigth-thousanders and Messner's climbs on these mountains. Lots and lots of excelent easy reading information about the eight-thousanders(historical highlights, geographical informations, technical informations, drawings of the most famous routes, etc); interviews(stories) with some other excelent climbers (Doug Scott, Chris Bonington, Hans Kammerlander, Kurt Diemberg, etc. ); filled with quotations; superb pictures of all the 14 eight-thousanders(really really great pictures - high quality paperprint). Aside all that you also have some good "short" narrations (stories) about Messner's climbs on all the eight thousanders, some comments about mountaineering, about the critics made toward him, and others aspects of his career. For instance he talks about the death of his brother in Nanga Parbat, about traditional alpine style, about his partners, about solo climbings, about the use of oxygen and about much others subjects(traverses, new routes, human limits, etc). But don't expect to find a detailed, extensive narration about the climbings and I think that is because you would have at least 14 books inside a single book, it would be just to big for printing. You won't find any other book with the climb stories of the first person(Messner) to climb all 14 and also with great pictures and information about the 14. This is a must have in any moutaineering collection.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Great climbs, so-so writing, May 4, 2000
This review is from: All Fourteen 8,000ers (Hardcover)
The climbs decribed in this book show why Messner is one of, if not THE, greatest climber of all time. The book also shows how that description will probably not be used to describe his writing skills. The writing is OK, but it is a little choppy, and the short chapters (one per mountain) sometimes leave the stories feeling a little condensed. It's almost like reading a Reader's Digest version. However, the climbs are spectacular, and in some cases the events do overcome the narrative and shine through.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Incredible achievement, January 3, 2002
This review is from: All Fourteen 8,000ers (Hardcover)
Back in the '70's and early '80's, I eagerly awaited each issue of Mountain Magazine. It was my link to the climbing world. Time after time, a small paragraph or two would appear about another 8,000 meter peak that Messner had summited - all without bottled oxygen, all in exemplary style. The editor of Mountain was no fan of Messners, so the write-ups were overly brief. Still, I knew I was witnessing the work of a master. This book compiles Reinhold's views on his biggest alpine climbs and still, we are sandbagged. What this man and his partners achieved is difficult to fathom two decades later because his impact has been absorbed into the whole. Before Messner, oxygenless attempts on the big mountains had fallen out of style but now, few world class mountaineers would dare consider it's use. Before Messner, huge seige expeditions were the norm but today, many emulate Reinhold's gutty, stripped down approach and the environment has benefitted. Reinhold is the man !
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