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- An emotional glimpse of the Golden Age
- Amazing book
- Living a Passion
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Glen Denny: Yosemite in the Sixties
Manufacturer: T. Adler Books/ Patagonia
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High Infatuation: A Climber's Guide to Love and Gravity
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ASIN: 0979065909
Release Date: 2007-06-01 |
Book Description
The sheer granite walls of Yosemite Valley have drawn a lot of visitors over the years. In the late 1950s and through the 60s, they galvanized a dedicated group of rock climbers, who saw their glacier-polished faces as the purest challenge. When those climbers first made their way up Half Dome and El Capitan, they ushered in a new era--over the course of the 60s, they developed techniques, tools and philosophies that would change the sport forever. In the 60s spirit of social exploration, a small group of committed climbers eventually dropped out of the mainstream of work and society to take up residence at Camp 4, perfecting their skills and developing a unique scene. This austere, boulder-strewn campground became the epicenter of the climbing world. In between spectacular feats carried out on the walls, it served both as a launching pad for further adventures and a refuge from them. Here, plans were made, teams were formed and life was lived. The significance of Camp 4 was recently recognized in its placement on the National Register of Historic Places. Photographer and filmmaker Glen Denny was among its denizens, and captured his fellow climbers' personalities and parties, aspirations and preparations, loves and dreams in absolutely stunning, and sometimes death-defying, black-and-white. This majestic visual record of Yosemite in the 60s includes a foreword by Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia, an introduction by Rick Ridgeway, whom Rolling Stone has called "the real Indiana Jones," and a wealth of previously unpublished photographs.
Customer Reviews:
An emotional glimpse of the Golden Age.......2007-09-17
I learned to climb in 1970, so I missed these golden years of rock climbing. And I've never been to Yosemite. BUT, I can say that these climbers were giants of their time who influenced most of my climbing since those times.
Now at the age of 56 I'm still climbing (okay, not so hard of routes), and looking at this book made me realize I'm still a product of their energy and passion.
A great book with heart and soul.
Amazing book.......2007-06-26
All I can offer is that Glen Denny is the Salgado of Yosemite photography. He really is that good. Buy the book!
Living a Passion.......2007-06-15
Yosemite in the Sixties tells a story of men who develop and live their passion. For those willing to invest a couple of hours to see and feel this experience, Yosemite in the Sixties is a must.
Glen Denny is a tall quiet man. He expresses much in few words. His book is of his pictures. They speak more than many could say. His pictures show faces: "...a rock wall or a human being," Chouinard writes. Glen's pictures show people who define themselves by their passion for climbing rock walls.
I read this book three times. The story Glen tells truly is "A Movable Feast."
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Gender, Interaction, and Inequality
Manufacturer: Springer
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ASIN: 0387975780 |
Book Description
Gender has an effect on all types of interaction. This book focuses primarily on the role of gender in task-oriented or goal-oriented interaction, which is most often the interaction of "work" (paid and unpaid): communities, teams, community groups, juries, classrooms, and work groups.
Average customer rating:
- Additional interesting information...
- The banality of sex work.
- Exploration of the sex industry.
- top-notch journalism ý the opposite of exploitation
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Red Light: Inside the Sex Industry
James Ridgeway
Manufacturer: powerHouse Books
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The Secret Lives of Adult Stars
ASIN: 1576870006 |
Amazon.com
Sylvia Plachy, a photographer for the Village Voice, and James Ridgeway, a reporter for the same publication, have delved into the depths of the pornography trade to explore and explain both its allure and its vulgarity. There is a sense of shock value in exposing the most lurid of fantasies--a man who has his dominatrix mummify him in concrete--that is tempered with theories as to how such an industry could have evolved. We also get to meet for ourselves those in the trade, providing a walk on the wild side within the safe confines of photographs and words.
Book Description
Featuring over 120 gritty black-and-white photographs, Red Light: Inside the Sex Industry is a provocative tour of New York City's sexual underground, told in the authentic voices of those who live and work in it.
Customer Reviews:
Additional interesting information..........2003-08-19
Apparently the book may have hit a little too close to home for some. One of the book's researchers (a dancer in the sex industry) disappeared not too long after the release of the book. It is still unknown if the disappearance was a result of her work on this book or some of her other reasearch in writing about Vampyre Cults. If you ever catch the documentary "Stripped", you can find more of the details there - but it seems fairly certain that foul play was involved. Anyway, just a little interesting fact that may make the book more interesting for some.
The banality of sex work........2000-06-11
Published in 1996, "Red Light" is a quick, interesting read that opens a window to the everyday world of New York and New Jersey sex work. Focusing primarily upon different types of prostitution and "exotic" dancing, writer James Ridgeway also touches upon porn films, phone sex, and computer-oriented enterprises. The black and white photos by Sylvia Plachy ably illustrate the world that's being delved into here.
Because "Red Light" was published in '96 the subject of computer oriented work is out of date, but the predictions regarding that arena have turned out to be mostly true. Frustratingly, Ridgeway occasionally makes sweeping or trite generalizations - particularly in the introduction - without presenting information beforehand to bolster his statements. The biggest drawback to this book is that it is geographically focused on New York and New Jersey, which are unique to anywhere else in America. Lastly, while it is often understandable, Ridgeway sometimes uses language that hinders the reader from deciding how he or she feels about a certain situation or person; or he turns the narrative in a negative direction if an interviewee starts to express something positive.
Even so, since I'm interested in human sexuality, our society's dichotomous, hypocritical and confused views on sex, and because I believe in freedom of choice, I thought "Red Light" would provide uncensored insight into the sex worker's life. It did that, though not to the extent I'd hoped. Mr. Ridgeway mainly focuses on the squalid side of the business (e.g. street prostitution and small time go-go dancing), and limiting this exposé to New York and New Jersey says more about the culture of sex work in those areas than it says about sex work everywhere else. However, even within that limited area the authors had their work cut out for them, which they presented in a bold and visceral style that gripped my attention.
"Red Light" will undoubtedly get people to re-evaluate their perceptions of the sex industry. The inherent dynamics of sex work - greed, laziness, male lust, fear, danger, fantasy, and denial - ultimately reveal the banality of commercialized sex.
Exploration of the sex industry........1999-07-10
An excellent survey of all types of sex work, from phone sex, massage parlor, brothel and street prostitution to stripping. The author presents a balanced and readable work. I recommend it highly.
top-notch journalism ý the opposite of exploitation.......1998-04-06
Red Light promotes the radical notion that sex workers are people, too. Here "sex worker" carries far beyond the stigmatized streetwalker stereotype. This biz provides the legal livelihood of folks as diverse as the vice cop, the cosmetic surgeon who creates the outlandishly enlarged tools of the trade, the porn star, the publisher, the dominatrix and the vibrator dealer. Their voices, as well as those of the neglected other half of the equation, their customers, humanize the daily commerce of desire. Ridgeway's eloquent and stylish prose probes the relationship of the sex industry to family values, gender inequality, censorship, anti-porn feminism, sexual liberation, puritanism, government repression and the fulfillment of fantasy. But the focus is always on the people: go-go dancers including men who shake it for audiences of both straight gals and gay guys, fetish mistresses, peep show performers and a midwest massage parlor madam, among many others, tell their stories. Their articulate observations about their professions in their own words comprise the most compelling part of the text. Plachy's intimate photographs are likewise non-judgemental, neither romanticizing or demonizing the workers or their patrons. Depictions of on-stage professional personas engaged in enacting male expectations alternate with moments of quiet, backstage reflection and many pictures of nothing more or less than workers at work. Red Light ranges from the oldest profession to lap dancing, cybersex chatrooms, gender bending customers of size XXX lingerie, the trials of male porn film performers, phone sex, zines, the Goth/vampyre scene, S/M dungeons, immigrant brothels, erotic shaving services, the sexual performance art of Annie Sprinkle and Ron Athey, the hustles, the mob, the impact of AIDS and drugs, and back to the age-old fear of the inevitable descent to the street. An intellectually provocative work, no matter what side of the debate you're on, Red Light is a consummately professional journalistic collaboration that illuminates a thriving enterprise that many would prefer remained in the darkness.
Book Description
Microsoft's .NET strategy embraces a vision for integrating diverse elements of computing technology and data services. The wireless Internet and mobile devices are core components of that strategy. Visual Studio .NET includes a powerful set of toolsthe Mobile Internet Toolkitfor developing websites and applications that can be accessed from all kinds of mobile devices .NET Wireless Programming provides the technical details you need to master to develop end-to-end wireless solutions based on .NET technology.
You'll learn to take advantage of the Mobile Internet Toolkit's automated deployment capabilities, which enable a single site or application to work with nearly any mobile device. Freed from the task of writing code to accommodate various devices, you'll be able to apply other skills to build a more powerful application: Work with styles and templates. Create custom controls. Read from and write to databases. And use Microsoft's Web Services in support of a distributed architecture.
Five case studies, including a mobile intranet, a contacts database, and an online game, illustrate solutions to real problems and techniques for maximizing application flexibility. A set of appendices provide detailed information on the WML language and the Toolkit's classes. This book presents its many code examples in Visual Basic .NET, but the greater emphasis is on Visual Studio .NET and the flexibility it gives developers in choosing the language they want to use.
Customer Reviews:
Microsoft's Internet Toolkit Put Simply.......2002-10-23
This book is a fantastic resource for those who are just entering into Wireless Application Protocol. It contains advice for users on how to get an IP address for their mobile phone through to developing complex algorithms for use on such devices. The terminology is clear and an example of this is the description of Blue Tooth Technology in Figure 3.7.
It is a dynamic book and has been created so that the reader can gain comprehension through the passages and the graphic screen shots.
Overall it is a very important tool book for those interested in the developing trends occuring in IT and the associated products.
An excellent reference.......2002-10-18
A great introductory reference for the novice WAP developer - easy to read, cumulative skill development, comprehensive examples. Also a good introduction to .net programming.
Amazon.com
Known for such feats as being the first climber to reach the summit of K2 without bottled oxygen, climbing Antarctica's highest mountain, and leading a team to the top of a formidable 2,000-foot granite tower in the most remote corner of the Amazon's Orinoco jungle, Rick Ridgeway, in his latest book, takes a walk. Of course, it's no ordinary stroll. Accompanied by park officers, Ridgeway treks unprotected among lions and elephants, rhinos and oryxes.
The Shadow of Kilimanjaro is as much a search for answers to an adventurer's most soul-searching questions as an account of a thrilling journey. In the introduction Ridgeway writes,
Henry David Thoreau did not write that in wilderness is the preservation of the world, as he is oft misquoted, but that "In wildness is the preservation of the world." There is a difference, and it is significant. A wildness is intact. In wildness, all the original pieces are there. My own backyard mountains in California, from the Coastal Range through the Sierras, are in many places wilderness, but none of it is wildness because the grizzly is gone. We may have the grizzly on the state flag; having it there, however, is not a celebration of our heritage but a burlesque of what we have done to the most noble patriarch ever to walk the land.
Starting at the top of Mount Kilimanjaro and ending at the Indian Ocean, Ridgeway's aim during this adventure is less to get there and more to be there. During his weeks on foot, he thoughtfully considers the effects of colonial expansion on Africa's indigenous peoples, its landscape, and its awe-inspiring animals--all the while contemplating with a conservationist's heart Africa's uncertain future. --Kathryn True
Book Description
In one of the most acclaimed travel and adventure books of the past year, Rick Ridgeway chronicles his trek from the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro to the Indian Ocean, through Kenya's famed Tsavo Park. His tale is, according to The Boston Globe, "a gripping account of how it feels to be charged by an incensed elephant and kept awake at night by the roaring of stalking lions." But it is more than an adventure story. The Los Angeles Times noted that "the pace of walking gives Ridgeway time to contemplate his great theme and the great men and women who have struggled with the conundrum of whether man can live at peace with the beasts." Ridgeway examines the effects of colonial expansion on the indigenous people, the landscape, and the animals, and contemplates the future for all of them.
Customer Reviews:
A Great Book on East Africa.......2007-06-08
Let me first of all say that Rick Ridgeway is one of my favorite adventure writers. This book is focused on the area around Kilimanjaro and the current state of the conservation movement. Rick does a wonderful job of describing the area as he makes his way on foot from Kilimanjaro to the East coast of Africa.
One of my favorite aspects of this book is that Rick includes all the books he has used in his research to gain a better understanding of the history of East Africa.
If you love a well written adventure, with enough meat to make you want to dig deeper in understanding Africa - this is your book.
Travel, Nature, Adventure, and History all in one package.......2006-02-07
Author Ridgeway writes a well-paced narrative that smoothly ties together his personal adventure in eastern Africa with the area's history and culture, particularly in terms of its ecology, with focus on elephants as the defining megafauna of the area.
Ridgeway provokes thought on the future of Africa's large animals, the past fate of those large mammals that have already disappeared, and how we humans tie into all of this. His primary sources are the people who have shaped and continue to shape Kenya's game and wildlife policies; these sources give his writing the distinct tinge of veracity.
Recommended for any interested in travel, African history, or ecology.
Ethnocentric and quite boring.......2005-09-08
I was so disappointed by this book I could not get through more than a couple of chapters. The author may know about mountaineering, but he seems to know very little about Kenya. Moreover, I found the writing to be ethnocentric and quite boring.
"Whatever happens to beasts happens to man.".......2005-02-26
Combining moments of danger with moments of profound introspection, mountaineer/explorer Ridgeway details his journey from the top of Mount Kilimanjaro through the Tsavo game reserves to Mombasa, a month-long journey on foot, which allows him to experience man's primal relationships with the environment. Traveling with an experienced guide, two members of the Kenya Park and Wildlife Service, and two sharpshooters (in case of life-threatening danger), Ridgeway follows dry riverbeds across the savanna, seeking "tactile knowledge of Africa's wildlands and wild animals."
Far more than a search for thrills, the journey offers Ridgeway an opportunity to observe breath-taking vistas and the full panoply of wildlife, from the elephant to the tiniest of birds, paying equal attention to all. Mourning the absence of once-plentiful animals from the bushlands near Kilimanjaro, and the decline of species elsewhere, Ridgeway contemplates the long-term effects of colonialism, big game hunting, poaching, traditional tribal values, climatic changes, and tourism, as well as man's seemingly innate tendency to kill certain species into extinction.
Ridgeway, long a hunter himself, is an engaging author, both observant and thoughtful. A great admirer of hunter-turned-game-park-adminstrator Bill Woodley, whose two sons from the Park and Wildlife Service are on the journey, he provides a sensitive and impartial treatment of conservation issues. Extolling the work of elephant researchers Cynthia Moss and Joyce Poole, the latter of whom joins the group for part of the journey, he points out that they have acquired through study a kind of knowledge not available to hunters. Without preaching, he conveys "the big picture," making a compelling case for the fact that to preserve Africa's large mammals one must "fight fiercely not only to preserve, but even to expand, their wild habitat." Mary Whipple
Not at all patronizing.......2002-04-01
Rick Ridgeway has written a very informative and entertaining account of his 300 mile hike West to East across southern Kenya in 1997. The walk was metaphorically in THE SHADOW OF KILIMANJARO beginning on the summit of that great mountain and spanning the different ecological zones of mountain moraine, foothills, savannah, scrub, desert, and finally tropical white sand beaches of the Indian Ocean coast near Malindi. More significantly Ridgeway writes about his journey in the shadow of others who have written famously on Kenya, most significantly Hemingway, Dinesen, and Blixen. At yet another level this story is set in the shadow of Kenya's colonial history and its current struggles as a developing nation trying to make its way in the modern world.
Ridgeway deals with all the relevant issues - ecology and the environment, conservation, domestic politics, the economy, tourism, the romantic literary images, the colonial legacy, the Mau Mau uprisings, cultural, ethnic, and social issues. And he deals with them in the way good travel writing should. Simply present the facts as you get them and let others speak their truths. No moralizing and very little contextualizing and therefore very refreshing.
The image of Kenya that emerges is that of a real country. Not too much of the fantasy and gloss of a romantic wilderness nor the equally unreal vision of warring tribes at THE ENDS OF THE EARTH. Just reality. Strengths, weaknesses, beauty, blemishes, issues, agendas, and concerns. All the things that face a people making their way on a rapidly globalizing planet. Although Ridgeway's Kenya is a very different place than the country I knew in the 1960's when I lived there in my youth, it's still as rich and as alive as I remember it and Ridgeway has done an excellent job of bringing it home.
Customer Reviews:
Scary things to learn.......2007-01-15
I had to buy this book for a U.S. Minority Group Sociology class, and I loved it. It's amazing how in middle and high school I learned about a lot of the people that were mentioned in this book, but my past teachers neglected to tell us the truth behind the scenes and how so many of these historical figures were racists and bigots. It sickens me to know that the historical figures Americans today praise for their contributions to our society are the same ones that hated seeing races/ethnicities working together. I learned so much in this class, and so much from this book.
Jorge Boosh = Right Winger and Racist?.......2006-03-01
Maybe someone should inform Vicente Fox.
It's amazing what liberals write these days.
And by the way, the Republicans and the Democrats are two sides of the same coin, two halves of the same party. They aren't that different. Both want massive immigration, both want America involved in wars all over the world, both want to move our jobs to foreign countries, both support the new multicultural society, both of them are chock full of people who marry across the race lines, neither really cares for religion (regardless of what the politicians say...I don't see the Republicans putting prayer back into the schools), both woefully disregard the Constitution, ad infinitum.
Attack the Right...and TOTALLY ignore Leftist murderers.......2005-08-02
Pathetic...how can anyone discuss the "racist right" and ignore the overwhelming hate the left has for ordinary White Christian people?
Blacks rioting and murdering for "social justice" are treated with kid gloves because.."Oh they were just addressing White racism"...PUHLEEEZE...
Folks there is something going on with the White people of America. They are hammered constantly with "diversity" aka less whites equals better...but should White people DARE to suggest that maybe just maybe White people should be allowed to have a civilization of their own WITHOUT the horrendous black, Mexican violent crime rate...then they're "racists"...
Well... get used to it, the "movement" it is getting larger and larger by the day.
Soon White people will not give the smallest damn about your name calling, it will effectively mean NOTHING...it already does to MILLIONS of White people.
This book is yet another attack on White people who have simply become fed up, they've had enough, and they are now doing something about it.
So keep ignoring the overwhelming evidence of non-white on white violence...keep using the same rhetoric to attack anyone who speak up for White people...your point is moot...and White people WILL win back the America they so dearly love.
Detailed, Well Written, Excellent.......2002-08-09
An excellent, detailed textbook style examination of the radical right, in all its manifestations. Of all the books I've read on the right, and I've read a few, this one is the best. Carefully crafted and scholarly, Ridgeway pulls no punches. He gives detailed explanations of the history, origins and rhetoric of the KKK, The Posse Comitatus, The American Nazi Party and many related right wing haters. He makes copious use of the rights own pamphlets and speeches to reveal their twisted belief systems, and the book is full of pictures and even includes exerts of the infamous Turner Diaries. Well written and readable the book is also a gripping page-turner and will definitely keep you interested until the end. My only gripe is with the final chapter, which is unduly alarmist. It is true that the radical right is active and that they are a danger to society, but I am not convinced by the notion that there values are more acceptable in society than they have been in the past. Was Bull Conner an outcast in his time? Is David Duke more important politically than George Wallace was? Has the KKK been able to defeat a presidential candidate in modern times the way they defeated Al Smith? I also found the suggestion that Madonna and Tom Petty of all people are spreading racist propaganda to be laughable. Further the notion that opposition to affirmative action is evidence of a racist mindset is absurd, and revealing of the authors `liberal' bias. Affirmative action is not only a racist notion, based as it is on the idea that minorities need special help to succeed, but also has given aid and comfort to the racist cause. Racists can point to Affirmative Action as proof of their own beliefs. That being said, the ideological quirks of the author do not detract from the excellence of his scholarship. As a detailed explanation of the radical right across the broad spectrum, the book is peerless. Highly recommended.
Interesting; go check out the videotape.......2000-07-01
If skined88@hotmail.com had seen the video version of the book, he would see that Ridgeway did extensive interviews with neo-Nazis, and in fact let them speak for themselves.
The book itself is interesting, but the video shows these people up for the clowns they really are.
Amazon.com
Dick Bass was a successful entrepreneur. Frank Wells was a Hollywood studio president. Together they set out to accomplish what no one else ever had: climbing the highest mountain on each of the seven continents. The fact that both men had so little climbing experience turned out to be their greatest strength: since they had no idea what they were in for, they never considered their task out of reach.
Rick Ridgeway, an accomplished climber in his own right, chronicles their journey, allowing readers to decide if these adventures are the result of midlife crisis or simply about men pursuing a dream with unshakeable resolve. Whatever the case, Ridgeway's fast-paced adventure provides gripping descriptions of the world's tallest peaks. We see the logistical nightmares of Antarctica's Mt. Vinson, the unpredictable weather of McKinley, and the extreme altitude of Everest's 8,848 meters. Ridgeway continues up Aconcagua, Elbrus, Kilimanjaro, and Kosciusko with lively accounts that capture the day-to-day operations of expedition life, and more intriguingly, the growing bond between two driven men. --Ben Tiffany
Book Description
Dick Bass was a successful entrepreneur. Frank Wells was a Hollywood studio president. Together they set out to accomplish what no one else ever had: climbing the highest mountain on each of the seven continents. The fact that both men had so little climbing experience turned out to be their greatest strength: since they had no idea what they were in for, they never considered their task out of reach.Rick Ridgeway, an accomplished climber in his own right, chronicles their journey, allowing readers to decide if these adventures are the result of midlife crisis or simply about men pursuing a dream with unshakeable resolve. Whatever the case, Ridgeway's fast-paced adventure provides gripping descriptions of the world's tallest peaks. We see the logistical nightmares of Antarctica's Mt. Vinson, the unpredictable weather of McKinley, and the extreme altitude of Everest's 8,848 meters. Ridgeway continues up Aconcagua, Elbrus, Kilimanjaro, and Kosciusko with lively accounts that capture the day-to-day operations of expedition life, and more intriguingly, the growing bond between two driven men. --Ben Tiffany
Customer Reviews:
A Great Read.......2007-05-01
I had a different take on the story than many of the previous reviewers. I never felt that Bass and Wells tried to hide their wealth or the fact that they were novice climbers. What I found most inspiring was the fact that they rarely let failure deter them. I'm sure true mountaneers will gain little from the book, but "outsiders" will gain a great deal of knowledge about the sport without having to interpret technical descriptions.
A different outlook on Mountain Climbing!!.......2006-11-17
I really enjoyed this book, and despite it not being as descriptive as other Mountaineering books. If you take this as a story of two men who have little climbing experience achieve a goal of climbing the highest Mountains in each Continent, 7 summits in total. I found it an amazing book of self determination, motivation and true friendship.
Yes it is true, they couldn't have otherwise succeeded at this unless they had the money to do so, but the book never denies the reader that insight.
This booked had me routing for them from their first Everest adventure, I just wanted them to achieve their goals.
For those who are wanting a descriptive mountain climbing book this isn't for you, but those who want to read about a great challenging adventure over coming multiple diffculties this is an excellant read.
Less Mountains, More Sap.......2006-03-28
This book is definitely not one to purchase if you are looking for detailed accounts of climbing these mountains.We read far more about the planning and personal lives of these men; neither of whom is interesting enough to command this attention. The dialogue between the two men is incredibly canned and sappy and Ridgeway tries in vain to capture the true feelings resulting from these ascents. You would probably be better off reading individual guides if you want to get a feel for these climbs. There are definitely better books on the subject.
What Money Can Buy.......2005-07-13
This book, in the main, is nothing more than hubris in print. Wells and Bass typify the attitude of today's wealthy elitists: the belief that because they have lots of money, they are somehow ennobled and entitled to everything the world has, including the world's highest mountain peaks.
Skip this book. If you want to read good mountaineering lore, try "Annapurna" by Maurice Herzog, or Hillary's account of his climb of Everest.
Poorly written.......2005-07-03
This book reminds me of athlete biographies written for kids. All the characters are presented as totally one-dimensional cliches-- business leaders who refuse to lose, tough-acting butchy women with hearts of gold-- all your favorites are here! You're forced to read page after page of detailed conversations that are clearly fictionalized. The author bends over backwards in an effort to elevate Bass and Wells to superhero status. All of this can get very annoying! The bottom line, as I understand it, is that Bass and Wells did something that they should be very proud of. By treating their adventure as a world-class mountaineering accomplishment (which it clearly was not) the author actually detracts from the story.
Average customer rating:
- Sixty-Seven Days to the Top of K2
- The Last Step: The American Ascent of K2
- The Last of Its Kind
- Great read ... gripping at times
- Be sure to dress warmly!
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The Last Step: The American Ascent of K2
Rick Ridgeway
Manufacturer: Mountaineers Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Similar Items:
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Annapurna
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K2, The Savage Mountain
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Himalayan Quest: Ed Viesturs on the 8,000-Meter Giants
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Nanda Devi: The Tragic Expedition
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High Exposure: An Enduring Passion for Everest and Unforgiving Places
ASIN: 0898866324 |
Book Description
The personal story of the 1978 American team who, following five failed attempts by previous American teams, gained the summit of K2, the second highest and most difficult mountain in the world.
In September 1978, Rick Ridgeway, Jim Wickwire, Lou Reichardt and John Roskelley stood atop K2, the first Americans ever to achieve that victory. Under the leadership of Jim Whittaker, they and their teammates had spent 67 days on the mountain, nearly all of them above 18,000 feet, where the stresses of high-altitude living, of monotonous food, of confinement in tiny tents for day after day of frustrating storms had worn them down to the core.
The Last Step is Rick Ridgeway's inside story of this extraordinary expedition. It's about the people who, battered by the mountain and their isolation, overcame their individual fears, desires, and disappointments to work together to get somebody - anybody - to the top of K2. It's about the glorious success the team achieved, and about the perilous bivouac Jim Wickwire spent just below the summit without food, oxygen, or shelter in temperatures of -40 degrees.
Customer Reviews:
Sixty-Seven Days to the Top of K2.......2007-04-02
"The Last Step: The American Ascent of K2" is Rick Ridgeway's extremely well written account of the first successful American ascent (and only third overall ascent at the time) of the world's second highest peak. "The Last Step" is the "expedition account" and includes fascinating commentary from several climbers, making for a more rounded view than most climbing books. "The Last Step" is blessed with a stunning collection of photographs which provide a sense of scale both of the beauty of the Karakoram Mountains and of the incredibly difficult terrain the expedition overcame.
Ridgeway's account candidly describes the tensions and acrimony that built up in the expedition as it was repeatedly stalled by poor weather in the fall of 1978. The expedition spent 67 days on the mountain, much of it exposed to the debilitating effects of high altitude. The normally driven and competitive natures of good climbers became points of friction as the expedition faced oncoming winter and the likelihood that few if any of the climbers were going to get a shot at the summit.
Ridgeway's narrative of the two successful summit attempts is absolutely hair-raising, as men too long in the "dead zone" above 26,000 feet climbed like near-zombies over dangerously exposed snow slopes. One climber, Jim Wickwire, was forced to bivouac overnight in sub-zero temperatures at 28,000 feet after zoning out and lingering too long at the summit.
The account makes clear that only the most fit, capable, and single-minded climbers had any chance of topping out on K2 under the conditions faced in 1978. Those climbers with lesser skills or with distractions such as homesickness or as in one case, an affair with another member of the team, were unable or unwilling to risk all for the summit.
This book is most highly recommended to fans of the climbing account genre. Although a long read at over 300 pages, others may find it of interest as an indepth look at what happens on world-class climbing expeditions.
The Last Step: The American Ascent of K2.......2007-01-11
Outstanding account of the expedition. May be a bit too detailed for some, but it definitely picks up as it goes. It's unusual to see this much detail on personal interactions. Photos were incredible, could have even used a few more.
The Last of Its Kind.......2006-07-17
This expedition of the first Americans (and third group) to summit K2 took place in 1978--which for me doesn't seem like ancient history. But while the equipment was relatively modern, communication was archaic by today's standards. No GPS, no satellite phones, no internet uplinks--the wife of one climber learns of his fate by telegram! Also, because this was Pakistan and not Nepal, there were no Sherpas and only a very small number of high altitude porters and none in the final stages.
So these guys (and gals--it really wasn't ancient history) did it the old-fashioned way--they trekked in for many days to reach Base Camp, they fixed their own rope and carried all their own equipment and cooked their own food. No team of Sherpas to set up aluminum ladders and make sure everyone gets across them. These folks write letters home and listen to cassette tapes.
And yet the story is told with the frankness of modern times--how do you pee at 27,000 feet, how do you deal with adultery on the expedition, and is it really worth it to climb mountains like this, risking death and the possibility of leaving your kids orphaned?
Extremely up-close and vivid writing, step by step and ragged breath by ragged breath. I read this on a hot summer day and yet the feeling of frostbite seemed more real than the hot air around me. A captivating story told by a skilled climber who is also a gifted writer.
Great read ... gripping at times.......2005-10-20
I had intended to stretch the reading of this over a couple of weekends. Instead I read it in two sittings. I literally could not put it down! I especially liked the author's account of his experience in the "death zone" while making his successful assault on one of the more difficult peaks in the Himalaya - without supplemental oxygen! I had always thought I would like to climb in the Himalaya. After reading the part about Wickwire's bivouac near 28,000 feet, I think I will be satisfied just reading about it. I highly recommend this excellent book!
Be sure to dress warmly!.......2004-03-13
The most amazing thing about this book is the sense of being there it creates for the reader. If you've ever wanted to know what it's like to be on a high-altitude expedition, this is the book. I've read a number of other mountaineering books, but this one stands out in putting the reader in the action. Aside from that, the book is also an inspiring story of heroes who knew what they wanted and were willing to do whatever it took to get it.
Book Description
Have you ever considered climbing to the top of Africa? Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest point on the continent of Africa at 19,340 feet. But unlike most of the world's highest mountains, Mount Kilimanjaro can be climbed by the "average" person. If you want to learn more about cliimbing Mount Kilimanjaro, then this is the book for you! Carmichael and Stoddard describe the process of planning, preparation, and execution of their Mount Kilimanjaro adventure. Their expertise in the biological sciences gives credence to their recommendations for physical training and their precautions taken to prevent altitude sickness. The book is intended to be a step-by-step guide for training, making arrangements, gearing up, and preparing for potential medical problems, time differences and language barriers. They offer hiking guidelines, mental strategies, and even photography techniques. Their diary of the six-day climb gives a vivid description of how they made it up the mountain and back down.
Customer Reviews:
Climbing Kilimanjaro.......2007-02-28
This books offers a good first hand account on preparing for a climb on Kilimanjaro. It puts on a personal touch that other books usually do not have. Although short, it is worth reading.
Amateur effort - not recommended.......2006-02-19
Wouldn't recommend it except to fill out your background reading of a fairly obsessive couple preparing to and then climbing. Much better books available such as "Kilimanjaro: A Guide to Climbing Africa's Highest Mountain, Includes City Guides to Arusha, Moshi, Marangu, Nairobi and Dar Es Salaam" by Henry Stedman.
Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.......2006-01-20
The book provides an exceptional insight into climbing the mountain. Lots of information, practical tips and experiences. Written in an easy to read style. Invaluable to anyone like me who is intending to climb the mountain.
Not worth your time.......2004-06-06
I've often thought about writing a book about a trip as a way to deduct the expense from my taxes, but I've refrained for fear that the result would end up like this book. Poorly written with very limited content, this book is of little interest and very limited use to anyone actually planning to climb Kilimanjaro. It's chief value is as personal account of the authors' climb, but you can find many similar accounts for free on personal websites everywhere.
Excellent Guide.......2003-12-23
It is frequently said of Mt. Kilimanjaro that it's not a "technical" climb; the implication being that it's not so difficult. But people have died trying and only half who make the attempt make the summit.
Nonetheless, the process is not complicated; arduous, but not complicated. All you need to start is some idea of what to expect and what to do. This book gives these things to you in a simple format, easily read, with instructions that are straightforward.
Kilimanjaro is far away for most of us, in a country we know virtually nothing about, on a continent that is always seen by the Westerner as dark and mysterious. Altitude sickness and its more serious friends, edema, must be confronted (20,000 feet is no joke) and the weather is variable to say the least ... starting in a rain forest and ending on a frozen snowfield four miles up.
Diseases must be prepared for, as must travel and physical conditioning and numerous other details. Carmichael does a good job of laying all this out and setting you on your way.
The rest is up to you. He does say that his exersize routine involved getting his heart rate to 150 beats per minute for two hours every day; this I find extreme even for me but it gives you a sense of what lies in store for you on the roof of Africa.
...
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- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
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