Customer Reviews

Everest : Mountain Without Mercy

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While the other accounts of Everest 1996 focus in on Fischer'sand Hall's teams, this one focus in the the IMAX team. From the looksof it, they were the only moderates on the mountain that season. They positioned themselves for rescue efforts with the Alpine Ascents team. While everyone else was being selfish with supplies and radio's and rescue teams, Brashiers and Viesters were there to give vital oxygen, help climbers from camp 3 and coordinate the helecopter rescue of Weathers and Gao.

While the narration may not be the most riviting part of the book, the full page color pictures are. This was a film making trip for the IMAX crew so the pictures they brought back for this book were increadible. They also published Scott Fischer's pictures of summit day. I noticed one picture where Krackauer is sitting in the snow as many climbers are going up the Hillary step. It really brought to life the sceene from "Into thin Air" where he was wanting everyone to hurry up so he could get to his oxygen on the south summit.

The short stories in the middle of the book make this the ultimate coffee table book. They read like magazine articles. The other books on Everest 1996 can be checked out of a library. This is the one you want to have in your home.

My Everest, "Experience", began with Mr. Krakauer and his book, "Into Thin Air". I then read Mr. Boukreev's book, "The Climb". Scattered amongst these were many other books about K2, incredible rescues, etc. The first and second books mentioned are outstanding, and while only those who were there know what flaws, if any, the books contain, they are both enthralling, frightening, and in the end horribly sad. They are however written by individuals, and like all first hand accounts expose a personal viewpoint, that here is all the more complex due to the conditions under which the climbers were trying to stay alive and sort out their thoughts. There has been criticism written about both accounts, I am guilty, but from spectators like us, criticism is inappropriate. We just were not there. This book brings balance to the tragic aspects of the climb, and through photographs that can only be rendered through the I-Max System, the best sense of the scale of the attempt, and the personal components that any individual must have to make the summit of Everest a goal. The only very disturbing news this book shared was the unconscionable behavior of one team, who's country I will not mention in the hope that these climbers represent an aberration of that Country's Citizenry. While books and debates will continue on this tragedy for some time to come, this book does an outstanding job of stepping back a bit, leaving bias behind, and finally, stands as a memorial of sorts for all those who were there. Again my thanks to all those who made the book available, and my condolences to those who suffered, perished, and to their families. They were and are all remarkable men and women.

This book is a companion to the Imax film of the 1996 Everest climb, made famous by the tragedy detailed in the Jon Krakauer book, Into Thin Air. This book is up to the usual standards of its publisher, the National Geographic Society. It contains spectacular photographs, and a narrative that contains both detailed technical information for the mountaineering junkie, and a gripping story.

My obsession with mountaineering began with "Into Thin Air" by John Krakauer. From there I progressed to "The Climb" by Anatoli Boukeerev. Then came "Eiger, Wall of Death", "K2 Triumph and Tragedy", and I currently have "Everest Diary" on my wish list. "EVEREST: MOUNTAIN WITHOUT MERCY" however, is my proudest posession to date. The awe inspiring photographs and the unbiased viewpoints from the expedition members were refreshing. There is little finger-pointing in this book. While I was well aware of the IMAX team's efforts during the 1996 tragedy, I came to admire them most for the efforts involved in the filming of the movie! I was lucky to be able to attend a lecture given by David Brashears shortly after purchasing this book and the IMAX EVEREST video. He truly is a die-hard filmmaker. The shots in this book (and in the movie) are breathtaking and were obtained at great risk. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is facinated with the stuggles of mountaineering. It combines facts (not blame) of the 1996 expeditions together with some of the most haunting photographs I have ever seen.

I don't know where I was in May 1996 that I missed out on this real life story. This book did an excellent job of recapturing the events of that month on Everest. I was transported back as if the events were happening real time. The pictures really took me there (well as close as I'll most likely ever get). I was taken in by the majesty as well as the tragedy of this story and those who lost their lives to Everest and to their insatiable desire to reach the summit. As opposed to Krakauer's book, Into Thin Air (which I read after being so enthralled with this book) I enjoyed this more impartial view and factual account of all the factors surrounding a decision to attempt a summit bid to the top of the world. After reading this book I can understand a person's desire to climb the summit but cement my own desire to climb no higher that 10 or 11,000 feet. I also enjoyed learning about the filming of an IMAX presentation. An excellent and enjoyable read.

This is a beautiful, large coffee table sized book. The photography is sharp, clear and the colors are beautiful. What is most impressive is the range of the text. It takes up the culture of the Sherpas, Buddhism, some geological and physiological findings as well as the climbing and filming of the Everest IMAX movie.

Sponsored by the National Geographic, and led by David Breashears, a highly respected leader and photographer, this was a dream team in operation. Lead climber was Ed Viesturs, brilliant U.S. climber who has attained 12 of the 14 highest peaks in the world, all without supplemental oxygen. I am happy to report he is not just a myth; his favorite meal on the mountain is Spam, yes Spam. Also this grueling trip was his "honeymoon." His bride accompanied him to Base Camp (about 17,000 feet) and got to worry about him for a solid month. I enjoyed reading about sparkling Aracali Segarra, attempting to be the first Spanish woman to summit Everest (she made it!) She is living proof that female mountaineers can be pretty and vivacious as well as awesome athletes.

The IMAX team was of enormous assistance to the beleaguered Hall/Fisher teams. They supplied oxygen, helped rescue and support the injured climbers on the South Face. Some of the pictures are brutal of the rescue attempts. The pictures of the mountain are splendid. The viewer will get an excellent sense of Everest's brooding size. To me, Everest is a Godzilla of a mountain. It does not have the proportioned beauty of K-2; it is one enormous hulk. But this does not take away from its majesty and awe. To the Sherpas, climbing Mt. Everest is a spiritual experience, something that is done with many prayers and much reverence.

Everest: Mountain Without Mercy will give you hours of enjoyment. It covers so many aspects of the area, and is beautifully printed and bound. I recommend it for your own reading or an excellent gift.
-sweetmolly-Amazon Reviewer

This book is an excellent companion piece to Jon Krakauer's epic Everest tale "Into Thin Air" as well as the Everest IMAX film that was being shot at the time that the May 1996 trajedy occurred. The book is coffee table size, and full of spectacular photographs of the mountain, mostly taken by the IMAX team. The narrative that accompanies the images documents what happened during that terrible month, from the horrific deaths to climber David Breashears's team's successful summitting of the mountain with IMAX camera in tow. The words read like a National Geographic article, however, giving only an overview of the events that occurred. Krakauer's book is essential for a complete understanding of what happened.

Overall, a fine coffee table book for those with an interest in mountaineering as well as those fascinated by the May 1996 disaster.

Although this book does not have the emotional punch of Jon Krakauer's "Into Thin Air", ultimately I found it to be more satisfying mainly due to the amount of detail and the incredible photography. Without a doubt, this is a more complete accounting of the events which occurred during the May 1996 climbing season on Everest. I enjoyed the sections on Everest history, geology, cartography, Sherpa culture and religion, climbing techniques, high-altitude physiology, etc. All this detail may be annoying to some readers - this book is a serious read. Most importantly, I consider the recounting of the Rob Hall & Scott Fischer team disasters to be more objective and credible. Jon Krakauer's telling of the story is more gripping, but it is also tainted by guilt and blame due to his intimacy with the events. I recommend reading both books together - Krakauer's for the emotion, and this one other for the detail, photos, and objectivity. I can't wait to see the IMAX movie.

"Everest: Mountain without mercy", the story of the IMAX team who filmed the climbing of Mt. Everest and the tragedy that ensued, made me want to get out and climb. Right now. I'd stop reading for the evening around 1 a.m. (as I couldn't put it down) and want to strap on the crampons and venture up the nearest ravine -- or at least a big staircase. Then as it went on, the author, Coburn, through his group of climbers brought the reality home to me of the exhaustion involved in a high altitude climb such as Chomolunga (the ancient name for Everest).

The photos accompanying the story also conveyed the feeling for the immenseness of the undertaking. However, it is good that this story will be put in the IMAX format, as the photos, as brilliant as they are, cannot convey the size and surroundings that the Himalayas require.

I would have given this book my highest rating, as I could barely drop it, except for two problems: First, the author threw out quite a few technical phrases concerning climbing, Buddhism or the mountain itself, that left me reaching for a dictionary, when I just wanted to find out what happened next. Sometimes I could figure out something from the context, sometimes I couldn't (it wasn't until the middle of the book that I discovered Cwm was a Welsh word, pronounced "koom").

My second beef is about the layout, though I'm not sure of another way to approach it. In the middle of a story, the author would mix in seperate "articles" from various authors about the climate, or geology, or religion, or filming, that while interesting, forced me to choose between continuing the page or the chapter or sentence and reading the article. I can understand the placement, but it broke my chain of thought such that it made me chop up a story that compelled me.

But these small problems were made up for by a story of courage, insight, history, and drama. By the end I realized that while Everest isn't for me, the lessons learned on the mountain can be passed on without the use of bottled oxygen or climbing gear. I highly suggest the read.

After reading "Into Thin Air," I've been searching out any book or magazine article about the obsession of reaching the top of Everest. After hearing David Breashears on NPR, I couldn't wait to get my hands on this book. Maybe I expected too much. The photography is stunning, and I appreciated the technical info about the logistics of filming at high altitudes. What I did not like was the extreme detail Coburn went into every time anyone waved a juniper branch. Fully 1/3 of the way into the book I was still reading details of every Buddhist god of every rock on the trek. I realize this faith is extremely important to the Sherpas (and also the author) but my enthusiasm for the prayers and rituals did not match Coburn's need to illuminate me.