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To: Fantasywriter

Read The Climb, by Anatoli Bourkeev instead. Much better read and closer to the facts.


34 posted on 03/26/2012 12:58:36 PM PDT by Raebie (WS)
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To: Raebie

Here’s an Amazon review of the book you may find interesting. I certainly did:

“This review is from: The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everest (Mass Market Paperback)
The debate that still rages over the relative credibility of the various books written about the 1996 Everest disaster is remarkable both for its intensity and its longevity. The fact that people are still arguing passionately about what happened nearly four years ago is kind of mind boggling. I’ve been following the debate from the sidelines ever since the summer of 1996, and I read both “The Climb” (TC) and “Into Thin Air” (ITA) as soon as they came out. Since then I’ve read almost all the other books about the tragedy as well. And recently I read the new expanded 1999 paperback editions of TC and ITA, each of which has been revised throughout, and each of which has a lengthy new postscript that answers charges made by the other book. If you have more than a passing interest in Everst 96, you will want to read both these new editions, even if, like me, you already read the first editions. The new dueling postscripts are mandatory reading if you want to have a better understanding of what happened. In my opinion, the truth lies somewhere betweeen the Krakauer account and the Boukreev/DeWalt account, although I think ITA is by far the better (and more believable) book. You, however, might feel differently. Read both new editions and decide for yourself.
All of the different Everest books offer slightly different versions of the same events. This probably shouldn’t surprise anybody, considering the effects of altitude and extreme stress on memory. I generally give Krakauer the benefit of the doubt over the other books, though, because he was the only author who took detailed notes while he was on the mountain (a widely respected reporter and mountaineer, he was sent to Everest specifically to document the 1996 climbing season). Krakauer was also the only one of the Everest authors who took the time to interview virtually all the major and minor players in the tragedy, so his book has a thoroughness that is lacking in the other Everest books. The other books, including TC, will be much easier to follow if you’ve read ITA first. ITA provides crucial background that’s missing from the other books, and seems carefully researched and relatively balanced in a way the other books do not.

Which is not to say that ITA isn’t flawed. Krakauer wrote it when he was still greatly troubled by the tragedy, and the book clearly shows his raw emotional state. This gave ITA much of its stunning literary power (it is incredibly riveting to read!) but it also probably skewed Krakauer’s objectivity. I think maybe he wrote more harshly about Sandy Hill Pittman and Boukreev than was necessary.

One thing that struck me is that ITA and TC are actually in agreement about most major points. ABout the only points where they diverge seriously is over the wisdom of guiding without oxygen, and whether or not Boukreev had permission from Fischer to descend ahead of his clients. On this latter point, Krakauer makes a pretty convincing argument that Boukreev didn’t have permission, but I think he was wrong not to give Boukreev the benefit of the doubt. I am prepared to take Boukreev’s word on this one, despite plausible evidence to the contrary. Ultimately it’s not really that improtant whether Boukreev asked permission or not before he went down. It probably wasn’t such a wise idea, with or without permission, but Boukreev later more than made up for it by saving the lvies of Pittman and Charlotte Fox. So I think Krakauer was wrong to make a bid deal about this.

But DeWalt makes an even bigger deal about this same issue, and thereby reveals himself to be an overly zealous advocate. TC barely even pretends to be balanced or even-handed. DeWalt writes in the style of a foaming-at-the-mouth defense attorney, less concerned with the truth than winning an acquittal for his client. He makes use of bombast and self-righteous indignation to appeal to his readers on an emotional level—the journalistic equivalent of “If the glove does not fit, you must acquit!” DeWalt presents the facts very selectively, and occasionally twists them outright, in order to build the strongest case he possibly can, hoping to make Boukreev look infallible and Krakauer look like a liar. The problem is, it’s not a particularly believable strategy if you stop and consider everything logically, without emotion.

Boukreev is portrayed as a hero in both books (albeit an imperfect hero in ITA). Like other reviewers here, however, I thought DeWalt’s overstated advocacy in TC actually did more to hurt Boukreev than help him. Krakauer correctly points out that DeWalt was surprisingly careless with his research and fact checking. Plus, DeWalt doesn’t have much natural talent as a writer (to put it charitably), which also hurts Boukreev’s cause. I wholeheartedly agree with those other reviewers who wish Boukreev had chosen a more skilful and scrupulous author to tell his story for him. As I said, however, these are simply my opinions. I urge you to read both books for yourself and make up your own mind.”

http://www.amazon.com/Climb-Tragic-Ambitions-Everest/dp/0312206372


36 posted on 03/26/2012 2:16:04 PM PDT by Fantasywriter
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