Everest, Revised and Updated: Mountain Without Mercy Paperback – August 25, 2015

I’ve borrowed the original edition from my local library so many times, I decided to buy the updated version. I love the photography and the stories. Just a great book that would make a great gift.

National Geographic brings us Everest: Mountain Without Mercy which is a fascinating book. It tells the true story of the disastrous 1996 Everest climb while making the highest ever grossing (152m dollars) documentary IMAX film ‘Everest’. As well as the story the book is full of stunning colour photographs and updated information about recent Everest events, climbs and notable climbers. It captures the majesty, danger and power of this awe-inspiring mountain in words and the accompanying beautiful breath-taking images (some images never published before).This is a captivating, often educational and sometimes shocking read. The 1996 Everest climbing season was to become infamous for the lives lost as well as those saved. Experienced climbers, guides and some of their clients died that year which just reminded us all just how perilous this incredible mountain can be. The book also looks at the local Sherpas who support and make the climbs possible. You come to realise that for them as well as some of the climbers that this is just not about skill and physical endurance. Climbing Everest for the Sherpas is a spiritual thing and we learn of their pre-climb rituals and offerings made to ask protection and please their Deities.The other thing that surprised me from the book was to learn how much of a business climbing Everest has become. The cost of expedition climbing licences has risen and how the whole Everest experience has become a tourist attraction. Finding that experienced Everest climbers becoming guides for their paying clients to assist them reaching the summit of the mountain.But the main theme of the book is tragic events of 1996 and the loss of life. The bravery and courage of the rescuers (including the IMAX film-crew) highlighted the terrible dangers of mountaineering at such great heights. The speed of change of weather conditions and the extremity of those conditions when things turn bad is frightening. The book examines the reasons for the tragedy and what could be learned without laying blame. It’s up to date with news, climbing related science and statistics as of May 2015 and is a precursor to a new film due out in 2017 ‘Return to Everest’. All in all this was a great read, I found it educational and I loved the fantastic pictures (book published Sept 15). Thank you to Louise Rhind-Tutt at lrtpublicity.co.uk for the free copy in return for an honest review.

I like the original better. This is an updated revised edition of a book written shortly after the 1996 disaster on Mount Everest. The original book was a larger format and the print was larger because of that. There are also more double spread photos. This newer edition is smaller in size, it has a few updates, not very many and of course photography has come along way since 1996 so the quality of the pictures are better in this book. Tells the story of the IMAX team who was on the mountain during the terrible storm described in into thin air. It is a companion piece to the IMAX movie and contains all the information that they couldn’t fit into that movie. If you have not seen the IMAX everest movie, check it out

It was not different enough from the original which we already owned.