I have always loved watching documentaries about climbing and thought I might read a suspenseful book about it since I enjoy that too. What I got was so much more! I knew about a people they call Sherpas. Here I leaned about a new people who carry loads also. You felt their struggles and their triumphs and the pain of the agony of the lost.The attention to detail and the the flow was so easy to follow even though there were quite a few people involved and this made it a great read. I read every word, even the the credits and acknowledgements. It was fascinating to know how they compiled all of the information. Yes,it was a tragedy but there was a lot of heroism too on the parts of many and is a beautiful read without sensationalism, vulgar language or sexuality so many of the media thinks is necessary to sell something. I highly recommend it.

Although not much of a climber myself, I have an intense love of mountaineering literature, and I read the genre almost exclusively. During the Himalayan climbing season I follow a number of climbing Web sites and I'll never forget the drama that was unfolding on K2 the night of August 1, 2008. The news was grim. Several climbers had reached K2's summit at sunset. Anyone who read "Into Thin Air" will remember that the cause of many problems on that disastrous day in 1996 on Everest was due to late summits and ignored turnaround times. One would think these lessons would be a warning to the climbers on K2 that fateful day. But Summit Fever is hard to shake. A huge amount of money, physical effort and discomfort feed the fever and overpower common sense. Once you've fought your way to Camp IV, you're not inclined to turn around, no matter what the conditions. But this day conditions were excellent. However, the high altitude sun loosened the giant serac overhanging the crux of the climb. It didn't take long for word to get out that avalanches had scoured away the fixed lines leaving climbers stranded high on this extremely dangerous mountain. I've read several books about this disaster, so I already knew who lives and who dies. But that didn't detract from the gripping drama that unfolds in Peter Zuckerman's and Amanda Padoan's superb narrative. They have fleshed out the story in more vivid detail by focusing on the Sherpa and Pakistani points of view. These men were interviewed in their native languages--a crucial element since they were participants and eyewitnesses, adding excruciating but vital details. The story is tragic, heroic, poignant, and heartwarming. I was particularly delighted by the COLOR photos, all of which I had never seen before. I give this book two thumbs up AND five stars! Not only is it a page turner, it is a story that is not easily forgotten.

Thanks.

This is a wonderful book, well researched, carefully documented, absolutely accurate and beautifully written and edited. It is a true adventure that takes the reader into the world of climbing Nepali Sherpas and Pakistani High Altitude Porters (HAPs), a world seldom experienced and little understood by westerners. We usually only hear about the westerners on the mountains and even in death most Eastern Sherpas and HAPs are not identified by name in news reports. The book weaves a true tale of tragedy, courage, and humanity about the most skilled climbers in the world who carry the rest of us to the top of unforgiving mountains inhabited by their goddesses. It is also the story of their culture, their families, and physiologically why they are especially adapted to climbing at high altitudes. This book leads us into their world. My husband and I have a personal interest in this story and have carefully followed the books published about the 2008 tragedy on K2 as Jumik and Tshering Bhote, Nepali Sherpa friends of ours, were on that mountain. They are brothers of Pemba, our lead Sherpa on our visits to Nepal. They have cared for us, driven us, guided us, and befriended us, as Sherpas do. Jumik lost his life when a serac fell on him. Tshering survived but will be forever marked by that terrible event as will his family, also friends of ours. I wish that I could say Jumik died in a place where he wanted to be doing what he loved; but, truthfully, he was doing what he could to provide for his family. People in that part of the world mostly live in abject poverty. Money can be made in the mountains, risky as climbing is. Jumik, and the other HAPs and Sherpas, do not climb for the love of climbing. They climb for money. Jumik was doing honorable work for honorable reasons, and this book honors his memory as well as all of those Sherpas and HAPs who were on the mountain that day. It tells the story of terrible death and great heroism and why these skilled mountaineers climb. It introduces us to their humanity as well as ours. I urge you to enter this world through the eyes of Amanda and Peter. You will be glad you did.