The White Spider [Paperback]

Heinrich Harrer (Author)

Book Description

Release date: September 28, 1998

The White Spider dramatically recreates not only the harrowing, successful ascent made by Harrer and his comrades in 1938, but also the previous, tragic attempts at a wall of rock that was recently enshrined in mountaineer Jon Krakauer's first work, Eiger Dreams. For a generation of American climbers, The White Spider has been a formative book--yet it has long been out-of-print in America. This edition awaits discovery by Harrer's new legion of readers.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

At 13,025 feet, the Swiss Eiger doesn't approach the height of Everest or Denali, but the sheer rise and difficulty of its 5900-foot north face keeps it in the company of the world's most celebrated peaks. At the time Harrer (Seven Years in Tibet, originally the sequel to this volume) became part of the first successful summit climb in 1938, the north face of the Eiger was considered the "last and greatest of Alpine problems" left in the world. Originally published in 1959 (with chapters added in 1964 and an index covering subsequent Eiger climbs), this riveting account of his ascent and the history of confronting the EigerAbeginning with the first fatal attempts to conquer the north face in 1935Ais a crisply written paean to the mountain where Harrer first earned recognition as a world-class climber. A simple narrative style brings to life the many obstacles faced by Eiger climbersAsnowstorms, avalanches and a continuous shower of falling rocks among them. Harrer has a Hemingwayesque appreciation of the codes, bravery and rules of conduct governing the closed world of "true mountaineers." And he reserves special contempt for the sensation-seekers who gather to watch deadly feats of climbing from the ground below. Sections that document the evolution of climbing gear (Harrer wore no crampons on his 1938 ascent) and national rivalries in the WWII-era climbing community help make this volume an important contribution to the emerging canon of mountaineering literature.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

'An outstanding book in the mountaineering library.' Guardian 'Even to look at the photographs of the terrible slopes of the Eiger chills the blood. Heinrich Harrer enables the reader to vicariously experience the cold and the terror of the climb.' Irish Press '"The White Spider" provides almost the classic statement of the weird and frequently misunderstood psychology of the modern rock-climber. Despite the grimness of much of what he is doing, Harrer communicates the irresistible joy of climbing as an antidote to the idea that climbers are masochistically trying to prove something to themselves.' Sunday Times 'A true classic from the early days of mountaineering...The terror and respect that the Eiger inspires is evoked superbly in Harrer's narrative.' Maxim --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Tarcher (September 28, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0874779405
• ISBN-13: 978-0874779400
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1.1 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #58,796 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #5 in Books > History > Europe > Switzerland
  • #55 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Miscellaneous > History of Sports
  • #85 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Mountaineering > Mountain Climbing

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Facing down the North Face of the Eiger December 2, 2002

By M. Ragen

Format:Paperback

This book details Heinrich Harrer's participation in the first successful ascent of the North Face of the Eiger in the Alps. Harrer goes far beyond simply recounting the story of their 3-day ascent and describes the earlier unsuccessful and often fatal efforts that helped pave the way for their ultimate ascent and several of the subsequent successful and tragic ascents as well. Although written in a somewhat dispassionate manner that may be due to the translation from original German, this book is a very comprehensive description of the story behind the climbs of the Eiger. Worth reading.

25 of 30 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Good but could have been better! April 20, 2000

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

I enjoyed this book, but I kept feeling something was missing. For one thing, I expected long treatment of the famous Lachenal-Terray second ascent in the immediate post-war era, and this was most disappointingly lacking.

Second, there was just .... something missing, somehow. The book seemed like a sterile recounting of history, not like something lived in the passion of the moment. Where were the great blow-by-blow descriptions of entire climbs, complete with pitches from hell, near-falls and miraculous saves, desperate bivouacs, all the great stuff ... ?

I have to agree with the earlier reviewer who said that climbing literature just ain't what it used to be. Sure, it's good to see this classic in English translation. Likewise, it's great to see Gaston Rebuffat's Starlight and Storm in bookstores. But there is so much better out there. Why isn't Lionel Terray's "Conquistadors of the Useless" (for my money the best climbing book of them all) still in print in the US? And why haven't Louis Lachenal's "Vertigo Notebooks" ever been translated into English? And what about Heckmair's own memoirs? Like the other reviewer said: kids today don't know what they're missing. Too bad for them.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars An interesting, detailed history of the Eiger up to 1964 December 29, 1998

By [e-mail]

Format:Paperback

A book which I found fascinating and gripping, but which I also found disappointing in several ways. The author researched the Eiger exhaustively, and his accounts are filled with details which bring them alive.

But I have three complaints about the book. First, the author at times spent too long writing about the philosophical aspect of climbing, and climbing the Eiger in particular. Thus the books starts off slowly, but once he gets to the actual climb stories, it picks up nicely. Second, I think the translation from German is wretched. Numerous times I had to reread tortured convoluted sentences. (I blame this on the translator since "Seven Years in Tibet" doesn't have this problem.)

The biggest flaw, however, is that the accounts end in 1964. Much of interest has happened since then such as the diretissima attempts. The only mention of these are brief descriptions given in a time-line in an appendix.

Its flaws notwithstanding, I did enjoy the book and do recommend it, but would love another book describing in equal detail the history from 1964 to present.