Annapurna |  | Author: Maurice Herzog
Brand: Globe
List Price: $16.95
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Seller: horizonbb
Rating:  45 reviews
Sales Rank: 31201
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1st
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Pages: 336
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.9
ISBN: 1558215492
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.522095496
EAN: 9781558215498
ASIN: 1558215492
Publication Date: June 1, 1997
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
BASIC BK, SEA KAYAKING
Amazon.com Review
Before Everest, there was Annapurna. Maurice Herzog led an expedition of French climbers to the summit of this 26,000-foot Himalayan peak in 1950. At the time of the assault, it was the highest mountain ever climbed, a remarkable feat in itself made all the more remarkable by the fact that it had never previously been charted. Herzog and his team not only had to climb the darn thing, they had to find the route. As riveting as the tale of the ascent remains nearly half a century later, the story of the descent through virtually unsurvivable--think avalanche and frostbite, for starters--conditions is unforgettable. Herzog's masterful account, finally back in print, is a monument of courage and spirit, an epic adventure excitingly told.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 45
 Excellent mountaineering literature. November 21, 2009
Jacob C. Case (Salt Lake City)
I consider "Annapurna," by Maurice Herzog to be an excellent read about mountaineering. Although I would generally recommend this book to anyone, I consider it an essential part of a mountaineers literature collection. For climbers, learning the lessons secondhand from Herzog rather then coming home from an expedition with fewer extremities than you had when you left seems to be the preference. This is a great book to study the mountain of Annapurna as well as to check yourself and your practices while high on your own mountains. After reading "No Shortcuts To The Top," by Ed Viesturs, I found that Viesturs continually referred to this book while he was enduring his quest to climb all of the 8,000+ meter peaks to keep himself in check. Viesturs admits that some of his practices on expeditions, such as always having two pair of mittens, as well as only using mittens that actually attach to his down suit, may be the cause that he climbed all 8,000 meter peaks without frostbite.
A couple of things to consider is that this book was translated from French, as well as written in the early 1950s. Herzog's climbing team were primarily Chamonix guides. Because of this, there are some small and certainly manageable grammar errors, as well as an overall general different way of saying things. I personally didn't mind this and consider it to have perhaps even strengthened my literary capabilities. In fact, I would often find myself quite humored by the grammar peculiarities. Perhaps they even aided in conceptually creating the environment and time period of the book.
I would also say that I didn't observe the excessive self praise by Herzog that was mentioned in another review of this book. Although only a fool would expect a personal account of anything to be completely objective, it felt generally objective to me, and I felt that Herzog applied most of his praise to his team's abilities rather than his own.
 A mountain shrouded in mystery October 27, 2009
Paper Pen (Long Beach, CA USA)
The year 1950 doesn't seem that long ago. But in terms of mountaineering, 1950 is ancient history. Mount Everest had not yet been climbed. The use of oxygen on high peaks wasn't common. And some of the highest mountains in the world were still shrouded in mystery.
In 1950, a French expedition ventured into Nepal hoping to be the first to climb a peak over 26,000 feet. But with bad maps and no aerial photographs to guide them, they spent weeks just trying to get close enough to a mountain to climb it. The one they finally chose, Anapurna, turned out to be doozy.
"Anapurna" is an accounting of this expedition by its leader, Maurice Herzog. It's not a particularly well-written book, but it still has some fascinating history and exciting moments.
If you're only looking for climbing adventure, there's much in the book you can skip. Fast forward to the summit attempt by Herzog and Louis Lachenal. On the way down, they and two other climbers get lost in a storm and struggle to stay alive. This gripping section is the best part of the book.
Still, it's interesting to read other parts of the expedition as well. Today, mountain climbing has become almost ruthlessly efficient as small parties summit fast and get down as quickly as possible. The 1950 expedition, by contrast, had nine Frenchmen and employed scores of Sherpas and porters to move goods and supplies in a series of camps. It took it months from start to finish.
While Herzog does fine recounting events, he doesn't do well portraying the people of the expedition. The Frenchmen are all portrayed as hard-working team members who barely, if ever, complain. It's hard to tell them apart.
The relationships between the French and the Sherpas and porters is interesting, though sometimes uncomfortable for today's reader. Herzog has high praise for many of them. But there's a section near the end where the expediton forcibly employs local men to help them carry their supplies. Herzog rationalizes that they all get well-paid in the end.
If you stumble over some of the mountaineering lingo ("bergschrund," "cagoule") in the book, take note that there's a glossary in the back. I didn't discover it until after I was done reading!
The most influential mountaineering book ever featuring exploration, the exhilirating summit, and the nightmare descent September 18, 2009
Jerome Ryan (Toronto, Canada)
My second favourite Mountaineering book of all time! This is the most widely-read and influential mountaineering book ever published. Annapurna was the first 8000m mountain to be climbed, with Herzog becoming a national hero.
Because the maps at the time were incorrect, the team initially floundered looking for a route to either Dhaulagiri or Annapurna. Deciding that Dhaulagiri was too difficult, they found their way to the North Face of Annapurna. They quickly, and luckily, raced up the mountain. On June 3, 1950 Maurice Herzog and Louis Lachenal reached the summit of Annapurna without oxygen.
The descent turns into a nightmare, and is better than any fictional writer could dream up. Herzog loses his gloves and his hands become frostbitten and Lachenal's feet become frostbitten. Both barely make it back to camp. Lionel Terray and Gaston Rebuffat help them, but the weather turns into a white-out. They wander around helplessly before finding a crevasse to spend the night. They were caught in an avalanche. The medical treatment they received by the expedition doctor was unbelievable and almost primitive.
"The summit was a corniced crest of ice, and the precipices on the far side which plunged vertically down beneath us, were terrifying, unfathomable. Our mission was accomplished. But at the same time we had accomplished something infinitely greater. How wonderful life had become! What an inconceivable experience it is to attain one's goal and, at the very same moment, to fulfill oneself. I was stirred to the depths of my being. Never had I felt happiness like this - so immense and yet so pure."
 Good book February 8, 2008
dy (florida)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book may have began a genre of climbing/adventure accounts because it was written some time ago, and this, more than the content (in my opinion) is the reason this book is the number 1 mountaineering book of all time; at over 11 million copies sold.
The first part is a bit slow and sort of parallel's the teams slow slogging through the land to get to the mountain. Overall, this was a harrowing and heroic feat, and gripping to read. It also opens the door to following books which dispute Herzog's point of view.
Good, not great. And there are some great books about climbing.
Climbed But Not Conquered December 6, 2006
K. C. Huseonica (Maryland)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Herzog provides a detailed perspective of the famed Annapurna climb that has inspired numerous high altitude and arm chair climbers.
Suffering frostbite and unimaginable suffering, Herzog has made a statement, worth reading in his epic account. No other sport has it's center pieces so open in sharing their innermost feelings.
The b/w photos were relatively scare and of only fair quality.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 45
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