Customer Reviews

A Life on the Edge: Memoirs of Everest and Beyond

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Jim Whittaker is famous as the first American to summit Mount Everest. This book provides intriguing insights into the motivation and character of Jim, who has taken full advantage of the prominence that he acquired through his Everest accomplishments to pursue many causes important to him, including the environment, progressive politics and world peace. In addition to an extraordinary career as a mountaineer (first American on Everest; leader of expedition which put first Americans on top of K2; leader of Russo-Sino-American Peace and Environment Expedition to Mount Everest which put teams of Chinese, Russians, and Americans together on summit of Mt. Everest), Jim has been successful in business (CEO of Recreational Equipment during its period of exponential growth), has been actively involved in politics (as manager of Robert Kennedy's Washington and Oregon campaigns and other activities), has known well fascinating people from many venues in life (such as the Kennedy family), and has had to deal with failure and betrayal as well as success in life (divorce, bankruptcy caused by a dishonest business partner). This book is illuminating because it focuses on larger issues, such as the challenges of facing unexpected adversity and the challenge of making a difference with your life. This is much more than the story of a mountaineer. I seldom read the biographies of mountaineers and climbers because they are much less interesting than descriptions of individual adventures. This book, however, is an exception. I could not put it down.

I'm a 20 year old guy about to graduate from college, and have thus been thinking a lot about the future and how I want to live my life.. I just finished reading the book and wrote in my journal about it, which will sum up how I feel about it pretty well:

Wow... I just finished reading a really good book, a book that has brought together and solidified a lot of the things I've been thinking about the past few weeks. The name of the book was "Life on the Edge" by Jim Whittaker, the first american to reach the summit of Everest. When Chris and I went to the bookstore for our weekly visit, I was looking for an true-life adventure book, but I also wanted something that had a sense of "living" to it as well. I read "Into Thin Air" and it was like a drama novel, seeming almost like fiction. "Life on the Edge" hits much closer to home, describing the realities of a life well lived.

I've worked for REI for over 13 years and had heard a lot about Jim. Until reading his story, I never knew just how instrumental his leadership was in starting our Coop. His humble leadership style is evident in his outdoor accomplishments as well, bringing people together of differing personalities in sometimes-dangerous circumstances. Many lessons can be learned from Jim in this book that can be applied to business situations as well as everyday life. I found it an easy and interesting read from both a philosophical as well as a hard core mountaineering standpoint. I read part of it on a backpacking trip around Mt. Rainier, and read it to my 13 year old son who enjoyed it as well!

Jim Whittaker's book, A Life of the Edge, is an entertaining autobiography of the first American to summit Mount Everest. In it, Jim Whittaker talks about the highlights of his life with a great sense of humor. Unlike other autobiographies which tend to be dry to read, Mr. Whittaker sprinkles his tale with interesting facts and light hearted descriptions of events. Especially interesting is his account of his first ascent to the summit of Everest, in the midst of an incredible snow storm and the interesting problem he faced on his way down. His accounts are vividly described and would interest any mountain climber or outdoors person.

This is a great book to read and enjoy. With the sudden re-surgence of interest in Mount Everest, this is not a book to be missed. Especially when it is written by the first American to summit Everest. A great book to include in any autobiography library!

One of the truly great climbing books! The work describes this American Hero's life philosophy of learning and truly living. It describes how to take on an acceptable amount of risk and gain from the experience. I found valuable Jim's philosophy (who I met and idolized as a kid) translated into a world well beyond the mountain - into his political friendship with the Kennedy's, his professional life at REI and Magellan GPS; as well as his efforts to foster nothing short of world peace. I kept finding myself wondering if there was anything Jim had not taken on!

The writing is considerably less melodramatic than a great number of climbing/travel logs, which is refreshing. Straightforward and clear, even when discussing the inevitable loss of life involved in mountaineering.

A memorable quote follows: "It's about making the most of every moment, about stretching your own boundaries, about being willing to learn constantly, and putting your self in situations where learning is possible - sometimes even critical to your survival. Being out on the edge, with every-thing at risk, is where you learn-and grow-the most.

This book actually had a lot more surprises for me than I expected, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm pleased to add it to my mountaineering library. I wish that my life had been so interestingly adventurous! The Whittakers have been hugely iconic people in the Northwest climbing and outdoor clothing scenes.

Jim Whittaker's book is a wonderful read about the adventurous life of a gentleman of high moral values that include the love of nature and his fellow man. I found myself inspired by Jim's unsinkable personal attitude and his exuberant embrace of the outdoors. I think this book is as much about "right thinking" as it is mountaineering. I highly recommend this as a family reader that young people, interested in climbing or not, will likely find as stimulating as their parents will.

We usually cautiously enter a memoir/autobiography work such as this. However, we were pleasantly surprised to find a decent writing style, excitingly detailed stories, and a sharing of intimate knowledge.

The many epics in Jim Whittaker's life were outlined with sufficient detail to describe the epic, but not so much that it forced us to skip the remainder. I suspect that few secrets were not revealed about the Whittaker family.

There were numerous color and black and white photos in the hardcover edition to help support the memoir, with a focus on the epic adventures and less on early family life.

We give this work a rare five stars.

This book is great! I picked up the book at a Wilderness Club meeting where Jim Whittaker was the guest speaker. I was amazed with his good health and zeal for life at the age of 71. Jim's book is an inspiration to us all to seek out our dreams and explore the unknown. I couldn't put it down. His honesty and sincerity were remarkable. His description of the expeditions to K2, Everest and Mt. Ranier were vivid and thrilling. What an amazing life he leads!

An incredible book. Not because of his achievments (which are very impressive), but because he shares his wisdom regarding life. This comes from a man who's seen it all, and has seen life's ups and downs. Highly recommended.