Annapurna [Paperback]

Maurice Herzog (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1997

In 1950, no mountain higher than 8,000 meters had ever been climbed. Maurice Herzog and other members of the French Alpine Club had resolved to try. Their goal was a 26,493-foot Himalayan peak called Annapurna. But unlike other climbs, which draw on the experience of prior reconnaissance, the routes up Annapurna had never been analyzed before. Herzog and his team had to locate the mountain using sketchy, crude maps, pick out a single, untried route, and go for the summit. Annapurna is the unforgettable account of this dramatic and heroic climb, and of its harrowing aftermath. Although Herzog and his comrade Louis Lachenal reached the mountain's summit, their descent was a nightmare of frostbite, snow blindness, and near death. With grit and courage manifest on every page, Herzog's narrative is one of the great mountain-adventure stories of all time.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Before Everest, there was Annapurna. Maurice Herzog led an expedition of French climbers to the summit of this 26,000-foot Himalayan peak in 1950. At the time of the assault, it was the highest mountain ever climbed, a remarkable feat in itself made all the more remarkable by the fact that it had never previously been charted. Herzog and his team not only had to climb the darn thing, they had to find the route. As riveting as the tale of the ascent remains nearly half a century later, the story of the descent through virtually unsurvivable--think avalanche and frostbite, for starters--conditions is unforgettable. Herzog's masterful account, finally back in print, is a monument of courage and spirit, an epic adventure excitingly told.

Review

"Those who have never seen the Himalayas...will know that they have been a companion of greatness." --New York Times Book Review

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Lyons Press; 1st edition (June 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558215492
• ISBN-13: 978-1558215498
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 0.8 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (68 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #467,193 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #55 in Books > Travel > Asia > Nepal > General

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

120 of 133 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Lachenal, Terray, Rebuffat -- the Real Heroes of Annapurna April 17, 2000

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

I wish I could give this book negative stars! Herzog's self-serving account of the Annapurna expedition has dominated a generation of climbing lore but it does not tell the real story. If you are considering reading this book, please find and read the accounts of the other Annapurna expedition members: legendary mountain guides Lionel Terray and Gaston Rebuffat .... and especially Louis Lachenal, "the panther of the snows," who was recognized (despite being crippled on Annapurna at only 28) as the most brilliant mountaineer of his generation.

Herzog was the least technically able member of the two lead ropes on Annapurna and the only amateur, but he was selected as the expedition leader by the organizers (i.e., financial backers). Before they left France, Herzog made the other climbers sign an oath of silence that they would not speak or write about Annapurna for five years after their return. The result: Herzog's lionization as the "Great White Chief" of the expedition--and, worst of all, Herzog's dastardly attempts to put down and silence Lachenal, who sacrificed his own feet to get Herzog to the summit and bring him off the mountain alive.

Herzog's account of the expedition in Annapurna played to the French public's need for heroes in the post-war era and established Herzog as a national idol (Rebuffat would later write disgustedly about Herzog's "miserable pedestal"). But Herzog told a nationalistic fairy tale that ignored the serious conflicts among the team members and the fact that (Rebuffat again): "Lachenal was the guide [on Annapurna], and Herzog the client."

When Lachenal died in 1955, only months before the end of Herzog's gag order, he was preparing to publish his own journals of the expedition ("Carnets du Vertige"). Herzog got control of the manuscript after Lachenal's death (another ugly story) and published a heavily edited posthumous version omitting all the parts that conflicted with Herzog's original account. Now, Lachenal's unedited journals have finally been published--and they are shaking up the climbing world by revealing the not-so-inspiring story of Annapurna that the other team members hinted at all along.

Lachenal's account makes clear that Herzog was delirious and totally disoriented long before they summitted. It also describes Herzog's insane obsession with taking photos on the summit (all of Herzog naturally!) despite Lachenal's warnings that they were getting more and more frostbitten, a storm was coming, and every second made it less likely they would get down alive. Most poignantly, Lachenal explains that he knew on the way up neither he nor Herzog were in fit shape to continue, but that Herzog refused to turn back. Lachenal went on to the summit, "though I knew it would cost me," because he also knew Herzog could never get down alive without him -- a pure and total sacrifice which had nothing to do with ambition and self-aggrandisement but was, in Lachenal's own words, "an affair of the rope."

Everyone who wants to know the real story of Annapurna should read Lachenal's journals -- and also Lionel Terray's wonderful book "Conquistadors of the Useless." Terray, who went on to conquer Makalu, the Fitzroy and other great peaks, gives perhaps the most knowleagable and objective account of the Annapurna expedition. He also tells the unforgettable story of the Lachenal-Terray rope -- the most famous climbing team of their generation -- from their brilliant ascents in the Alps, to the nightmarish retreat from Annapurna (where Terray gave up his own boots in a desperate attempt to save Lachenal's feet from amputation), to the travesty of their "victorious" return to France with Terray carrying the mutilated Lachenal in his arms.

Terray's heartbreaking homage to Lachenal--"the eagle whose wings were clipped on Annapurna"--gives a true picture of what the "friendship of the rope" is all about, from a legendary mountaineer who was ready to give his life for it every time he roped up.

So read them all -- Terray, Lachenal, Rebuffat, Herzog. Then make up your mind who YOU believe -- and who the real heroes of Annapurna were.

35 of 38 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Annapurna: the heroic facade September 26, 2000

By K. Freeman

Format:Paperback

As an account of heroism, comradeship and self-sacrifice, this is a stunning book. It's inspired generations of climbers. If you're of a macabre turn of mind, it's worth reading for the frostbite scenes alone.

There's just one catch: It isn't really the truth. Beyond simply presenting the viewpoint of one participant, Annapurna involves whitewashing and even, more or less, lies. Dialogue scenes are Herzog's after the fact inventions, and events are manipulated to present a picture of unanimous heroism, with Herzog always in the lead.

I used to recommend this book as a matter of course. Now, I think anyone reading it should read Roberts' True Summit, and the writings of Herzog's team members, as well. That's the only way you'll get any picture of what the first ascent of Annapurna was really like.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Great Book But Flawed Kindle Edition December 10, 2011

By Michael J. D. Auben

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I first read this book many years ago as a teenager and was enthralled by this story of adventure and tragedy in the exotic setting of the Himalayas. I had recently had the desire to re-read this exciting story and purchased the Kindle edition. The book was every bit as interesting and exciting as I remembered. The only flaw in the Kindle edition, although I have to consider it a serious one, is the lack of the many maps and photographs that were included in the original hard copy. The missing maps in particular made visualizing the descriptions of the expedition locations and routes almost impossible. For this reason alone I think it is worthwhile to hunt down a copy of the original hardback book.