Over The Edge [Paperback]

Greg Child (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Random House; 2nd printing edition (2002)
• ISBN-10: 5551190455
• ISBN-13: 978-5551190455
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,757,020 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Over the Edge, April 8, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Over the Edge: The True Story of Four American Climbers' Kidnap and Escape in the Mountains of Central Asia (Hardcover)

This is an interesting work of journalism. Greg Child, a well-known climbing writer, is branching out and expanding his skills here. Overall, I'd say he does well. Climbers may want to be advised that this is *not* a climbing book; there's very little description of climbing and what there is has been written so as to fit a broader audience.

Child does three things here. First, he discusses the history and nature of Islamic terrorism in Central Asia. I'd think this element would have appeal to anyone interested in current events. Although some of the informational segments are dry, it's terrifying to realize the extent of, and the numbers of people involved in, violently fanatical beliefs. And it's tragic to think that some of the most beautiful wilderness landscapes on the planet are tainted by human brutality. The 9/11 tie-in here is obvious, since the group which kidnapped the climbers was tied to the Taliban.

Secondly, Child tells the story of the climbers, four young Americans who were taken as hostages. (We also get, briefly, the story of some European captives at the same period). And that's a slightly depressing view of human nature. While it's unclear how much warning the climbers had about the dangerous nature of the country they were visiting, it's obvious that they took a risk. There's something repugnant about these privileged Americans showing up in this extremely impoverished society with their CD walkmans, minidisc players, thousands of dollars of camera equipment (though the latter, granted, does professionally relate to their work for The North Face), and other electronic gadgets.

When they were captured, it appears that the undoubted courage it takes to climb hard routes didn't exactly translate. One can relate to their fear and helplessness.

Lastly, Child discusses the ugly attacks by other climbers and journalists, including Americans, on the hostages' story. Various details, even the story as a whole, were challenged by people who had never been to Kyrgyztan or interviewed any of the participants themselves. In my view, the physical and psychological condition of the four, upon their return, gives their story credence, as do the circumstances under which their gear was visibly abandoned. It also seems to me that Child is a trustworthy journalist. And perhaps most of all, if someone was going to make up a story about a heroic escape from terrorists, they'd make up something... heroic. Pushing a man off a cliff and running, though a sensible response to an extreme situation, isn't really a heroic act. Readers must choose for themselves, of course, whom they believe.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pre 9/11 insights, October 17, 2004

By 

Edward Lewis "tigerlewis" (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Over the Edge: The True Story of Four American Climbers' Kidnap and Escape in the Mountains of Central Asia (Hardcover)

I'm on a "True Escape Stories" kick right now. In my opinion, the more realistic and the least fantastic the stories are, the better. And that's precisely what you get with "Over the Edge". It's a story about how four American climbers escaped from their Muslim terrorist kidnappers. The fact that this all happened prior to 9/11 gave this reader an entirely different insight into what's going on in Iraq today.

One strange thing about the book is that the author often refers to himself throughout the book. This made absolutely no sense to me until the later chapters where he actually became an active character in the story. At first I thought he was on some kind of ego trip, but I later realized that the last part of the book would have made no sense at all without his personal information.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Unbelievable, August 8, 2002

By 

Mary G. Longorio "Texasbookgirl" (Eagle Mountain, UT) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Over the Edge: The True Story of Four American Climbers' Kidnap and Escape in the Mountains of Central Asia (Hardcover)

The tale of four young rock climbers escaping from shadowy rebel captors burst into national consciousness in August of 2000, I remember thinking "Why is this the first time we've heard anything about this?". Greg Child has crafted a hard to put down answer to that as well as the heartpounding tale of the four climbers...Jason Smith, John Dickey, Tommy Caldwell and Beth Rodden, and their almost unbelievable tale of survival. Traveling to a remote area of Kyrgyzstan to tackle a challenging climb, the four were not aware they were entering a zone rife with political turmoil. The remote area was favored as a training ground for various factions of militant..including the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. Taken captive, along with others, by the rebel group the four begin a desperate journey across the inhospitable terrain, at gunpoint. They saw a fellow hostage executed before their eyes,and began to realize the grim fate that was theirs. In furtive conversation, driven by fear, hunger and an will to survive the four begin to realize that their survival will depend solely on them and they formulate a desperate escape plan. But if they do manage to escape they are faced with a treck through difficult territory, not just inhospitable form the elements and terrain, but from the unknown warring factions who may inhabit it. Even more unbelievable are the naysayers who downplay the four's peril and even try to refute the whole tale once they have reached freedom. In a theme that has become famlair in other mountain climbing books, there seems to be as much drama in the few within the mountian climbing community's attempts to tear down the climbers, once their physical ordeal is over. This is a gripping tale of survival and the ability to overcome.