Customer Reviews

Thin Air: Encounters in the Himalaya

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One of the best books I have ever read or given to family/friends (I have bought 10+ copies since it was first published...too bad the original hard copy version is no longer available...mine is now in rough shape). My favorite climbing book of all time. Inspired. Be humbled with Child, then grab your gear... After this read, 'Deborah & Mountain of my Fear'.

This is a superb set of essays which describes the transfiguration of a gifted technical rock climber into a high- altitude mountaineer. In addition, it is a well-written, absorbing chronicle of high adventure in one of the most spectacular regions on earth (replete with dozens of stunning photographs).

For me, the chapters on Broad Peak in the Karakoram were the highlight of this collection . Child describes the geography, people and culture of Pakistan as well as the logistics of the expedition with such clarity and force that it is not hard to begin imagining you are there with him before too long.

But it is his deep respect for all the people he encounters and climbs with that makes this narrative so rich and special. In this regard readers will be moved indeed when Child looses his friend and climbing partner Peter Thexton to pulmonary edema after turning back from the summit on Broad Peak (without getting quite to the top). This tragedy is related with such pathos and power. And it makes Child reconsider the entire enterprise to which he has devoted his life, a process that one rarely reads about in the writings of high altitude mountaineers who so often maintain a stoic attitude reflexively. One's life, Child ultimately decides, takes precedence over the conquest of 8,000 meter peaks; no matter how compelling and significant such a goal may seem.

This is the best book on mountaineer that has been written. Child is a fantastic writer, and the stories he tells are entirely engrossing. Find this book and read it!

"Thin air" is one of the greatest books I every read. It's full of compelling, offbeat tales about alpine style climbing of Himalayan Mountains. Greg Child is an amazing writer and an even more amazing climber. K2 and Board Peak alpine style, bagging unclimbed routes, tents on fire; all make for interesting stories way up high. I recommend this book to anyone but especially climbers.

I'm a climber and I have all my non-climbing family read Greg's books. They always finish the book, (no one can put his books down) and come away with a broader understanding of what one does as they push their limits in the mountains.

If you want a more abreviated version...try Greg's book: Mixed Emotions - just make sure you have some free time because you won't put it down until you're done with the whole thing.

Greg Childs is one of the finest mountaineering writers in the world. Not only does he accurately relate the gritty details of life on expedition but he does it so well that my toes and fingers felt like they might freeze! He ranks right up there with Messner, Boardman, Hornbein, Harrer, etc.

This is a gripping tale of life, death, survival, and success among the world's most dramatic mountains. Greg Child is a magnificent writer telling of his transformation from a rockclimber to Himalayan climber, with all of the exuberance, drama, and heartache that goes along with it.

Like the much better known "Into Thin Air", this book extends far beyond a simple tale of climbing and mountaineering to greater thoughts and themes. Although at the cutting edge of mountaineering in the 1980's, Child comes across as humble and likable and his tale deeply personal.

Unlike Krakauer's book, this is truly a story of people pushing the technical limits of climbing and changing the very nature of the game. Perhaps the most compelling chapter is that involving Broad Peak, although Child's climbing on Gasherbrum IV left me amazed and breathless. That it may be the World's most difficult peak, yet is little known beyond the climbing community, makes it all the more dramatic.