Book Description
By the time David Roberts turned twenty-two, he had been involved in three fatal mountain climbing accidents and had himself escaped death by the sheerest of luck.
At age eighteen, Roberts witnessed the death of his first climbing partner in Boulder, Colorado. A few years later, he was the first on the scene of a fatal accident on Mount Washington, New Hampshire. Months afterward, while pioneering a new route in Alaska with the Harvard Mountaineering Club, Roberts watched as his climbing partner and friend fell wordlessly 4,000 feet to a glacier below.
Despite these tragedies, Roberts insists that the greatest pleasures in his life have come in the mountains. Several of his challenging routes in Alaska have never been climbed again in the nearly forty years since those first ascents. Roberts continues to climb today, and like all climbers, he still grapples with the cost-benefit calculus of his sport. In a well-known essay that he wrote twenty-five years ago, "Moments of Doubt," Roberts insisted that the benefits of climbing were "worth it." More recently, however, he has gone back to interview relatives and friends of some of his deceased climbing partners. He discovered that even decades later, the wounds had failed to heal, the terrible losses were still acutely felt. And so in this book he comes to a different conclusion about climbing, one that is sure to stir controversy in mountaineering circles and among adventurers generally.
Anyone who has ever wondered why mountaineers take the risks that they do will be moved and enlightened by On the Ridge Between Life and Death, as will anyone who appreciates vivid, dramatic storytelling and an unflinchingly honest self-examination of a lifetime spent pursuing a dangerous pastime.
Customer Reviews:
Doesn't deserve one star.......2006-12-07
This is the first review I have ever submitted. I have read over a hundred books about mountaineering but I must say this is the worst. He should have named the book "me me me". I have never read a more egotistical writer. Anyone giving him a 5 star rating must be related.
For a Few Dollars More...........2006-05-28
Like Clint Eastwood's early "spaghetti westerns", Roberts's memoir is a too long, but generally fascinating narrative replete with seemingly numberless dead bodies, and one terribly misused girl, about whom the "hard man" protagonist shows remarkably little feeling.
Let me acknowledge: I'm not a climber. I LOVE mountains, especially the world above timberline, and like Roberts I was awed by Maurice Herzog's Annapurna in my youth and by the accounts of Hillary and Tenzing - and earlier Mallory - on Everest. But my fear of heights - and perhaps good sense - have limited me to the walk-ups like Mt. Elbert which Roberts ridicules.
Let me also ackowledge why Roberts's memoir troubles me so much. One of the finest young men I taught and coached in prep school was lost in a crevasse on Shishapangma in 1996. He was a 3rd year med student who had very limited climbing experience, yet the expedition leaders never acknowledged that he should not have been allowed to proceed solo between camps at 21,000'. To me his loss epitomizes the awful waste of life on mountains and the callous attitude of those like Roberts who encourage neophytes beyond their capacities and seem to feel no genuine remorse.
The major drawback of this memoir, for the general reader, simply from a story-telling point of view, is its far too-long descriptions of many of Roberts's Alaskan climbs. Serious climbers may revel in the details of carabineers (I may or may not have spelled it right - and don't care) and route-finding and the like - almost minute by minute at times, but non-climbers will become weary and bored. With some skimming of those sections, I persevered to the end. Roberts's narrative style is, otherwise, effective plus I had to find out if he really was as hard and cold and short of compassion as steely-eyed Clint Eastwood. Yup. But, hey, telling about all the dead, and about "Lisa", will bring Roberts a few dollars more, right?
Is it worth the risk.......2006-03-19
I'm a climber only in the sense that I have paid guides to lead me up big mountains, which in the climbing world doesn't count for much. But I have been cold and afraid in the mountains, enough to appreciate what Roberts is talking about. A few days before what was my biggest climb, I met a young Argentine who would die a few days later on Alpamayo. We heard the news on the radio our Peruvian porters listened to incessantly (yes, I used porters). Something that has always bothered me about real climbers is their attitude toward risk, which is a euphemism for death. The 'hard man' attitude that Roberts discusses is very real. It is just casually accepted that people die climbing, and that it is worth the risk. Roberts's unique honesty allows the reader to see where the hard man comes from. He does it by painting a fairly painfully unflattering portrait of himself. Maybe even more unflattering than he intended. I am not a very hard man, and I found his description of Ed's death on Mt. Huntington and the subsequent telling of his parents almost unbearably sad. As is his description of his disastrous high school love affair. Somehow, Roberts has managed to write a book that conveys the majesty of the grand ranges, and why climbing breeds obsession, without letting the tragedy, of which there is plenty, fade entirely into the background. He has also ruthlessly kept out the various hackneyed sentiments often found in mountaineering books. Not any Mark Twight type hard man preening here, and the brooding is more under control than in Joe Simpson's later books, though I like them as well. But,when the rat is gnawing, and you're wondering whether maybe your planned route is too ambitious, like maybe fatally so, this is not the book to read. Save it for a chair and a warm fire.
Inside an Adventurer's Soul.......2006-01-27
Wow! Having read many climbing narratives and essays, I was expecting more of the same--exciting adventure writing similar to war accounts. David Roberts' newest book has all the first-person nail-biting drama, of course, of putting up world-class routes in frozen wilderness, but the surprise here is the intelligent, unflinching inner dialogue off the mountain. Roberts has seen and experienced high risk, death and deprivation, has lost and gained much from his chosen battles, and has explored the consequences here in an amazingly conscious way. This rare book sheds a great deal of light on the reasons Roberts was drawn away from the safe, tame and mundane 'everydayness' of modern life, even as he fought the demons that drew him away from his quests, even as he became aware of the spreading ripples that emanated from his passion for the climbing life. Undoubtedly these internal struggles rage inside many who try to balance a burning love for earth's wild and dangerous places (climbers, explorers, kayakers, surfers...) against the tidal pull of human relations.
A must read for climbers and any adventurer at heart.......2005-10-26
This book drew me in from start to finish. Being an avid climber myself I enjoyed reading about someone else so caught up in the lifestyle. I was swept away to the remote ranges of Alaska fully entertained by his stories of first ascents and failed attempts on some very respectable peaks. Just when I thought the book had climaxed and couldn't get any better, there he was, telling about another gripping climbing trip back to Alaska, or Canada, or a close call in the states. The book is laced with tragedy, both in his life, and his accounts of what has happened to others in the climbing community. Roberts evaluates what climbing has meant to him and what the impact has been on others. You don't have to be a climber to enjoy this book. Is it worth the risk?, read the book and decide for yourself.
Average customer rating:
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The Mighty Eighth in Color
Roger A. Freeman
Manufacturer: Specialty Pr Pub & Wholesalers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 General
| Military
| History
| Subjects
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| World War II
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General
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ASIN: 0933424574 |
Book Description
This new edition of the number one book in American government continues to provide the most current and engaging introduction available for the course. Written with the belief that knowledge of the development of American government is integral to fully understand our current political system, American Government: Continuity and Change offers a strong historical perspective that highlights the evolution of government and engages students with examples relevant to their lives.
Customer Reviews:
American Government.......2007-03-23
I am not an American Government person, but there is a lot of very useful information in this particular book.
Book Description
This new edition of the number one book in American government continues to provide the most current and engaging introduction available for the course without chapters dedicated to policy. Written with the belief that knowledge of the development of American government is integral to fully understand our current political system, American Government: Continuity and Change offers a strong historical perspective that highlights the evolution of government and engages students with examples relevant to their lives.
Average customer rating:
- Poor!!
- perfect condition
- American Government: Continuity and Change
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American Government: Continuity and Change, 2006 Texas Edition (3rd Edition)
Karen O'Connor ,
Larry J. Sabato ,
Stefan D. Haag , and
Gary A. Keith
Manufacturer: Longman
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Civics
| Government
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| Books
General
| Politics
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General
| Political Science
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All Titles
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Similar Items:
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Constructing the American Past, Volume I (6th Edition) (Constructing the American Past (Longman))
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American Story, Volume I (Penguin Academics Series), The (2nd Edition) (Penguin Academics)
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Liberty, Equality, and Power: A History of the American People (with CD-ROM)
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America's History
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American Government: Continuity and Change, 2006 Edition (Paperbound) (8th Edition)
ASIN: 0321317092 |
Book Description
This new edition of the number one book in American government continues to provide the most current and engaging introduction available for the course and contains an entire unit devoted to Texas government and politics. Written with the belief that knowledge of the development of American government is integral to fully understand our current political system, American Government: Continuity and Change offers a strong historical perspective that highlights the evolution of government and engages students with examples relevant to their lives.
Customer Reviews:
Poor!!.......2007-10-12
Got sent the wrong book from seller!!!very unsatisfied with them just made me waste my time!!!
perfect condition.......2007-09-22
The product was in a perfect condition, brand new and the shipment was fast. I am very satisfied with the service provided.
American Government: Continuity and Change.......2006-07-03
While this textbook may seem inexpensive, you must also purchase an internet code to use along with it. They don't tell you this when you buy the book. As for the book itself, it's a hassle to keep together. Thumbs down.
Book Description
The Essentials edition of the number one book in American government continues to provide the most current and engaging introduction available for the course and contains an entire unit devoted to Texas government and politics. Like the comprehensive edition, this nuts-and-bolts version was written with the belief that knowledge of the development of American government is integral to fully understand our current political system. Essentials of American Government: Continuity and Change is a student-friendly text offering a strong historical perspective that highlights the evolution of government and engages students with examples relevant to their lives.
Customer Reviews:
Great book!.......2006-01-29
This is the book for one of my poly sci classes at college and I really like it. I recommend it!
Appreciate the opportunity.......2005-09-20
I purchased this book for my grandson for use a college. It was shipped quickly.
Book Description
The election update edition of the number one book in American government continues to provide the most current and engaging introduction available for the course and contains an entire unit devoted to Texas government and politics. Written with the belief that knowledge of the development of American government is integral to fully understand our current political system, American Government: Continuity and Change offers a strong historical perspective that highlights the evolution of government and engages students with examples relevant to their lives today.
Customer Reviews:
wtf .......2007-09-01
my book suppose to come with the code for the poliscilab and its not there where is it
Product Description
This new edition of the number one book in American government continues to provide the most current and engaging introduction available for the course. Written with the belief that knowledge of the development of American government is integral to fully understand our current political system, American Government: Continuity and Change offers a strong historical perspective that highlights the evolution of government and engages students with examples relevant to their lives.
Product Description
This updated 2006 custom edition combines a very sucessful American government textbook with material devoted to an examination of California's governmental system.
Book Description
The essentials version of this bestseller in American and Texas government has been aggressively revised to provide the most in-depth and current coverage of the 2004 elections, the beginnings of the second George W. Bush administration, and the ongoing wars on terror and in Iraq while also providing expansive new coverage of our system's Constitutional roots.
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The Arctic Skua: A study of the ecology and evolution of a seabird
Peter O'Donald
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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| Outdoors & Nature
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General
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ASIN: 0521235812 |
Books:
- Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year
- Oscar Wilde's Wit and Wisdom: A Book of Quotations (Dover Thrift Editions)
- Out of Africa and Shadows on the Grass
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- Pele, My Life and the Beautiful Game
- Playground: A Childhood Lost Inside the Playboy Mansion
- Plutarch's Lives Volume 1 (Modern Library Classics)
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Books Index
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True Summit : What Really Happened on the Legendary Ascent on Annapurna
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Annapurna
