Going Higher: The Story of Man and Altitude

by Charles S. Houston

How the body responds to high altitude—the classic study revised for the latest scientific findings.

·Cutting-edge information on how to prevent, diagnose, and treat altitude illness and hypoxia in everyday life
·Interweaves fascinating research discoveries with dramatic first-person accounts
·Authored by a celebrated mountaineer and physician who pioneered research in the field

From the time of his historic expedition to Nanda Devi in the high Himalaya, Charles Houston, M.D., has been fascinated by the effects of altitude on the human body. Why do people get sick in the mountains? What are the symptoms of hypoxia—lack of sufficient oxygen—that also occurs in everyday life, sometimes chronically due to disease? How can we decrease the incidence of illness and death?

This substantially revised edition incorporates new research of the last 10 years. Houston joins forces with an educator and a medical writer in a text made even more accessible for the average reader while retaining the depth of material of particular use to the medical community. It includes new chapters on vision and the eye at altitude, chronic and subacute altitude illness, and the limits to work at altitude (with implications for athletic training). It presents current information on genetics and gender differences and more on flight and space travel, on understanding and treating sea-level hypoxic illnesses, and on who can (or should not) go to high altitude, and much more. With an expanded glossary of terms.

Genres: Climbing, Mountaineering

324 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

Reviews

[JP]

Good resource. The field is lacking in it.

[Robert Carman]

The content of this book is much too detailed for most readers. However, it appears to be the latest and greatest information on altitude sickness. An abridged version for hikers would be very useful.

[Jeane]

I have owned a copy of this book since 1987. It was required reading for my first college level biology class. The professor structured the class around the body systems that this book covers as well as the changes that occur to those systems as a person moves to higher altitudes. I found the book very understandable, but then I am not an average reader. It was a good book to build a class around that was designed for nursing students as well as for anyone interested in mountain climbing. I read the book again every few years... as a refresher.

[Shawn P]

Very detailed and “scientific” book on how the body reacts to altitude. I was looking for a book that can give me a layman’s perspective and at times the details were so excessive I felt almost like I’m sitting in a lecture for medical students.

However, I still managed to learn a lot and I skimmed across the overly elaborate parts, so all in all still a good read.

[Nate Beatty]

This is not "light reading." Don't read this book if you want quick, practical recommendations for how to handle the altitude on your next dayhike or weekend backpacking trip.

For anyone interested in altitude medicine, the history and state-of-the-art, what we know and what we don't about altitude sickness of any kind, its possible causes, and the science behind various known treatments and promising areas of future research, this book is a must-read.

Charles Houston is clearly one of THE authorities in the field. His writing, backed up with numerous anecdotes and contributions from co-authors, presents the kind of info you'd find in a medical textbook in the context of high altitude mountaineering narratives. Humorous stories and quips are coupled with insight Houston has amassed over decades of research. It's definitely the kind of book you can read cover-to-cover, learning a ton along the way.