false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166975037m/18565.jpg 18565 2 "Everest," writes British climber Bear Grylls, "is no place to prove yourself. The likelihood of reaching the summit is so slim that you're inevitably setting yourself up to be disappointed."<p> But, Grylls continues, mountains are most definitely an arena where alpinists express their deepest drives, and he had more ambition than most. Badly injured in a parachuting accident in 1996, he resigned his army commission and cast about for a new career--a decision he succeeded in putting off by enlisting in a climbing expedition to the world's tallest mountain. Now, Grylls points out, the odds of a well-conditioned climber's making the summit of Everest are something like one in a hundred; for climbers under the age of 30, who lack the experience and conditioning that age brings, those odds slim down to 1 in 1,000. Twenty-three at the time, Grylls took his chances nonetheless, despite the "sinking feeling that I had just made a commitment that was going to drag me a little too far out of my comfort zone."<p> He fulfilled his commitment, though surely not without discomfort, scared but determined, making his way up deadly obstacles such as the Lhotse Face Icewall and its deep crevasses. Other climbers were not so lucky, he writes in this you-are-there account of his time on the mountain, and death is a constant presence on these pages--which may deter readers who seek to follow in his footholds. For those content to travel up sheer rock and ice walls vicariously, though, Grylls's book is a spirited exercise in adventure writing and a promising debut. <I>--Gregory McNamee</I> 19956 2001 The Kid Who Climbed Everest: The Incredible Story of a 23-Year-Old's Summit of Mt. Everest total:140|5:43|4:58|3:32|2:4|1:3| 140 554 220 38 5 0 false false Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 25 07:46:46 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 25 07:49:43 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Mar 28 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Mar 28 20:35:03 -0700 2009 Sat Mar 28 20:50:47 -0700 2009 1 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Mar 25 14:26:52 -0700 2009 Fri Mar 27 12:03:08 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Apr 13 08:24:07 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 13 08:28:26 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Feb 02 11:37:53 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 02 11:49:29 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu May 15 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon May 12 13:26:17 -0700 2008 Thu May 15 17:31:24 -0700 2008
Th...more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Aug 31 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 31 15:24:31 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 31 15:26:49 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Dec 01 03:28:25 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 01 03:31:24 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Nov 14 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 16 13:39:11 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 16 13:39:11 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Wed Apr 15 17:45:11 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 15 17:45:49 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Fri Jan 30 19:01:01 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 30 19:01:01 -0800 2009 2 0 false false Thu Dec 11 12:09:12 -0800 2008 Thu Dec 11 12:09:39 -0800 2008 2 0 false false Fri Oct 16 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 29 13:12:10 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 29 13:14:09 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Fri Mar 27 22:39:50 -0700 2009 Fri Mar 27 22:41:50 -0700 2009
I have this book ]]> 4 0 false false Mon Jun 22 19:36:16 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 22 19:37:42 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Tue Nov 13 20:09:00 -0800 2007 Sat Jan 05 21:52:39 -0800 2008
Bear's ...more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Feb 27 14:29:08 -0800 2008 Wed Aug 27 03:53:32 -0700 2008 more...]]> 1 0 false false Sun Jan 13 07:42:01 -0800 2008 Thu Nov 15 11:51:20 -0800 2007 Mon Dec 31 07:03:39 -0800 2007 too easy to read. I felt like I was reading the essay of a first year college student's journal writing project - typos and all. The premise was that he was only 23 and the youngest Brit to climb Everest. That issue was only brought up a couple of times. Now that I think about it, it wa...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Jul 06 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 30 16:43:23 -0700 2008 Sun Jul 06 15:59:27 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Fri Nov 09 20:45:08 -0800 2007 Sun Nov 18 07:02:18 -0800 2007 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=18565