PDF Fallen Giants A History of Himalayan Mountaineering from the Age of Empire to the Age of Extremes by Maurice Isserman 20100223 Maurice Isserman Stewart Weaver Books
Download As PDF : Fallen Giants A History of Himalayan Mountaineering from the Age of Empire to the Age of Extremes by Maurice Isserman 20100223 Maurice Isserman Stewart Weaver Books
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PDF Fallen Giants A History of Himalayan Mountaineering from the Age of Empire to the Age of Extremes by Maurice Isserman 20100223 Maurice Isserman Stewart Weaver Books
"I was somewhat apprehensive before ordering this book, thinking that perhaps this would be either one of those over-dramatized litany of the terrible filled with death and gore, or one that would be a simplistic survey of what happened without much, if any, of the human touch. Upon receipt, however, I was pleasantly surprised to see that my worries such as these were unwarranted.
"Fallen Giants" is one of those gifts in which history need not be told in the extreme in order to be readable and captivating. The authors, who themselves are climbers, bring out the historic figures of the Himalayan mountaineering to life without needless exaggeration or embellishment, while at the same time not neglecting to delve into the fine details relating to the background in which these ascents, both successful and failed, took place.
This book is a fine treatise which should be a welcome addition to the bookcase of any climber, both actual and arm-chair type (the latter of which I am). whose hearts and minds regularly wander in the abode of snow."
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Tags : Fallen Giants A History of Himalayan Mountaineering from the Age of Empire to the Age of Extremes by Maurice Isserman (2010-02-23) [Maurice Isserman; Stewart Weaver;] on . Will be shipped from US. Used books may not include companion materials, may have some shelf wear, may contain highlighting/notes,Maurice Isserman; Stewart Weaver;,Fallen Giants A History of Himalayan Mountaineering from the Age of Empire to the Age of Extremes by Maurice Isserman (2010-02-23),Yale University Press (2010-02-23),B01FIX3GVI
Fallen Giants A History of Himalayan Mountaineering from the Age of Empire to the Age of Extremes by Maurice Isserman 20100223 Maurice Isserman Stewart Weaver Books Reviews :
Fallen Giants A History of Himalayan Mountaineering from the Age of Empire to the Age of Extremes by Maurice Isserman 20100223 Maurice Isserman Stewart Weaver Books Reviews
- Last summer, I read Prof Isserman's recent book on the history of American climbing and mountaineering, Continental Divide. I loved it! As a former rock climber and mountaineer from Washington State, I have devoured climbing literature since I was in college. When I was about eight, I read a story taken from James Ramsay Ullman’s history of the British efforts in the 1920s to climb Mt. Everest in the Himalaya and was fascinated with the story of Mallory and Irvine who disappeared in a cloud at over $27,000 ft on the northwest ridge of Mt. Everest in 1924. I read more, learned climbing basics in the early ‘70s and climbed for 20 years. I have not been in the sharp end of a rope on steep rock or a serious mountain in over 20 years, but I have continued to wander through the mountains of the American west and Canada and devour climbing literature.
Having been so impressed with Continental Divide, I obtained a copy of Fallen Giants last fall from and read it straight through in a few weeks. Having been a devotee of mountaineering writing since the early 1970s, I have owned maybe 200 or more books about climbing, including well over a dozen about the many efforts to ascend Everest from 1920 to 1953 and the successful and unsuccessful attempts to summit on the other thirteen 8,000 meter peaks. I had read many of the authors Prof. Isserman discussed and cited in Fallen Giants, and was familiar generally about the highest peaks. Even so, I really liked his treatment of the efforts to climb those fourteen 8,000ers. But I knew nothing of the ascents of literally hundreds of very worthy peaks in the Himalaya and Karakoram ranging from 20,000 to 26,000 feet and Prof. Isserman’s research was categorical and impressive. I loved the stories about obsessed people who traveled so far and tied so hard under terrible conditions back in the middle to late 1800s. The stories about life or death struggles on the much lesser peaks was as worthwhile as the those of tallest like Everest and K-2. He brought these struggles to life in a way that strongly affected me, as a former passionate but mediocre mountaineer. But the stories will impress the arm-chair mountaineer who as never climbed anything of note. Unlike one prior reviewer who disliked the hundreds of foot notes and the very large bibliography in Fallen Giants, they demonstrated to me the enormous research Isserman conducted and his grounding of fine details of the stories. I rated this with 5 stars.
I am looking forward to Isserman’s next climbing book. - I enjoyed this book more than any climbing book I've read in many years. It is superbly written and meticulously researched and annotated. As I approached this book, I felt its size and heft, looked at the text and saw the smallish font and the amount of print on each page, and I thought, oops, this might be a tough slog.
Nothing could be further from the truth. I'd been in a spate of reading thriller novels and this book was more un-put-down-able than nearly every one of those novels. This book was a page-turner throughout and only indulged in tiny doses of navel gazing, when called for by the individuals being described. This is the story of mountaineering in the Himalaya from the earliest historical accounts to the 2000s, told like a fireside tale. Gripping and full of life.
It would help to have some knowledge of the climbing history and the terrain covered to get the most out of this book; but it really does provide plenty of detail. As with any NF book that moves across the land in its story, it's a good idea to have an atlas or maps handy if you need to orient yourself.
The emphasis is on the fourteen 8000-meter peaks, their first ascents, and other of the very highest peaks in the range. This is understandable, since these were, for nearly the entire history of Himalayan climbing, the greatest challenges Just getting to the top of the greatest peaks. They were the lodestones of almost all climbers until the 1960s. Therefore, many of the smaller, more technical peaks are not covered (though some of the most famous and earliest are.) The book also focuses on other firsts, such as first ascents by climbers of various nationalities and by women.
By the time of the 1970s and beyond, when the range was opened to far more expeditions (and commercial trips) a severe selection of which climbs were to be covered had to be made. I think the climbs covered in the later periods reflect the interest of most readers of climbing narrative. You may not find your favorite ascent from the 1970s through the 2000s covered in detail (or at all); but a good selection of "firsts", news-worthy, and, especially, influential climbs are covered well. The intent of the book seems to be to indicate key climbs that drove the mountaineering ethic and climbing style in the Himalaya (including commercialization); and the authors accomplished this well. And did it in a very entertaining and readable style. Bravo!
Highest recommendation.
Regarding the charge of anglo-centrism Well, yes, they tailored the book for the British and American reader. And they primarily used feet for elevations and miles for distances. Tailoring your book for the intended audience? Wow, who knew?! - I was somewhat apprehensive before ordering this book, thinking that perhaps this would be either one of those over-dramatized litany of the terrible filled with death and gore, or one that would be a simplistic survey of what happened without much, if any, of the human touch. Upon receipt, however, I was pleasantly surprised to see that my worries such as these were unwarranted.
"Fallen Giants" is one of those gifts in which history need not be told in the extreme in order to be readable and captivating. The authors, who themselves are climbers, bring out the historic figures of the Himalayan mountaineering to life without needless exaggeration or embellishment, while at the same time not neglecting to delve into the fine details relating to the background in which these ascents, both successful and failed, took place.
This book is a fine treatise which should be a welcome addition to the bookcase of any climber, both actual and arm-chair type (the latter of which I am). whose hearts and minds regularly wander in the abode of snow.
