Above the Clouds: The Diaries of a High-Altitude Mountaineer by Anatoli Boukreev

Above the Clouds: The Diaries of a High-Altitude Mountaineer Reviews

• 
  Petra X

  This was boring. The journals themselves comprise about 70% of the book, the rest is prologue, epilogue and every other logue the publishers could think of to bump up the content of this slight book. If it had been edited, it might have been really good, but there wouldn't be much 'book' left about it.
  
  I read
  The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everest as a rebuttal to Jon Krakauer's
  Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster. This book was an excellent read and I took it at face value until I read news reports suggesting it was untrue in major respects and defamed Anatoli Boukreev by falsley accusing him of less-than-heroic, self-serving behaviour.
  
  
  The Climb was well-written and very focused on the subject - the 1996 climb where 8 people died, it would have been 11 if not for Boukreev - and well-edited. And that's where
  Above the Clouds: The Diaries of a High-Altitude Mountaineer falls down. It's all over the place. Interesting bits here and there but not enough to hold my attention any more than the over-long, totally non-critical introduction did.
  
  It felt as though someone had come upon Boukreev's diaries and thought that there might be a market for them. That should have been me, but not this time.
• 
  Mazola1

  Anatoli Bourkreev is known to American readers chiefly as the "heavy" in Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air, which told of the infamous 1996 disaster on Mount Everest. That book portrayed Boukreev as the selfish guide who put his own summit aspirations above the welfare of the clients he was hired to care for. Krakauer's book does admit that after reaching the summit, Boukreev performed heroically, saving three lives by being couragous and strong enough to go out into a storm when every other climber was too exhausted to even leave their tent. Still, Into Thin Air does not present a full and fair picture of the complex and complicated man Anatoli Boukreev, who died the next year on Annapurna, was.
  
  Above the Clouds paints that picture. Published after Boukreev's death, it is a collection of writings from his diaries. Although that sounds like it could make for a rather dry book, Above the Clouds is anything but dry. The book speaks with the voice of Boukreev, and depicts with great clarity the unique person and climber that he was. Boukreev was a uniquely gifted athlete and climber. He was also an academic prodigy, especially gifted in math and science, graduating from college with a degree in physics. During the course of his mountaineering career, he climbed many of the world's tallest mountains, usually without supplemental oxygen and often alone and in record breaking time.
  
  Among the most fascinating aspects of this book is the insight into the Soviet mindset that it provides. Boukreev's Soviet upbringing, training and worldview permeate the book. Boukreev was educated in the Soviet sports system, which regulated all sports activity, and attained the rank of Master of Sport. His observations on how the Soviet approach to climbing and to economics differ from the Western ideas is particularly interesting. Boukreev remained Soviet through and through, even when his contact with the West led him to acknowledge the superiority of aspects of Western life and thinking.
  
  Boukreev was dedicated to his climbing, and never married, and his love of climbing and the physical and psychic challenges posed by climbing at high altitude shine through in his writing. At times the book is almost lyrical. A typical example is his description of the fatigue and satisfaction that come with intense physical effort:
  
  "In general, I am so accustomed to exercise that I cannot sleep if I do not work hard enough during the day. Though the process is diferent for each individual, i think that if you maintain a normal pulse rate and can rehabilitate by sleeping well, you should work until you feel a pleasant tiredness, even at high altitude. Then the body accepts rest as a joy."
  
  Boukreev was not unaware of the risk of high altitude climbing. He wrote that in climbing, he often encountered the bodies of climbers who had died, and this made him think of the significance of the desire to ascend into the zone of danger. He believed that the significance was to overcome obstacles, to have a way to evaluate his actions in life. In this, he placed great emphasis on preparation, both physical and emotional. In his view, the climber who saw a corpse on a climb should be led to ask "Am I prepared for this ascent, can I realize my ambitions without becoming a victim of them?" We would all do well to apply those words to our own endeavors.
  
  In a poem, Boukreev wrote that "no summit is gained without pain." He also noted that "the last word will always belong to the mountain." Above the Clouds tells the story of a man who gained many summits, worked hard, prepared well and often rested joyfully. That the mountain did write the last word to his life would not have left him feeling unfulfilled.
• 
  Randell Green

  Mostly dull. Was exciting in parts in the middle, but too many parts not written by Boukreev. 🇷🇺
• 
  John Bradley

  Born in Mayak, Russia, in 1958, Boukreev became one of the world's greatest mountain climbers. But while his accomplishments included 21 ascents of 11 of the world's 14 highest mountains, Boukreev became known to the general public only after his work as a guide on a disastrous Mt. Everest climb was described in less than glowing terms in Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air. Boukreev's coauthored bestselling account of the tragedy, The Climb, was an attempt to set the record straight. This new posthumous collection is a series of narratives Boukreev wrote between 1987 and his death climbing Annapurna in 1997; it stands as an excellent addition to The Climb and as one of the most revealing and tough-minded descriptions of the life of a mountain climber. Three themes dominate the essays: the spiritual beauty and power of the mountains, the increasing commercialization of mountain climbing and the necessity for rigorous training by people (pros and newcomers alike) who want to climb the big mountains. The accounts—collected and edited by his companion Linda Wylie—capture Boukreev's thoughts during an often troubled period: by 1989, at the height of his powers, Boukreev had received the highest sports honors in Soviet history, but when the Soviet Union collapsed, Boukreev was forced to move to America, where he made his living as a guide for wealthy patrons on private climbing adventures—including the terrible Mt. Everest trip , which haunted him until he died i'm sure you would find the book thrilling
• 
  Carol

  After reading Krakauer's Into Thin Air, it is so good to know the real story about Anatoli, when reading Above the Clouds!
  
  He is a good honest individual and I respect the way he does things and also his attitude.
  
  He writes as if to take you along on his journeys on the mountains.
  
  And he was not a bad guide.
  
  He just guided the way he knew how.
  
  It was different from some standards.
  
  I could even say Scott Fischer could have had a hand in it; he did not spell out the expectations he had of Anatoli. Also, that language barrier could not have helped.
  
  Anatoli had some good advice on climbing but could not give it because of the language barrier, and perhaps, (not sure this is it, either)from feeling like he was not really part of the group.
• 
  Bug

  I can't find the words to describe how sad this made me. I keep writing and deleting, so I think I'll just stop trying
• 
  Naomi

  To climb only as a means of ego gratification is stupid, though for humans that is a compelling reason.

  
  
  I read Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer and was immediately obsessed with Everest memoirs. I couldn’t tell you why. I could say it’s the drama that thrills me. The strangeness of the landscape and the impotence of earthly ambition against the indifferent skies. How a situation can change in a second with no foreshadowing. Maybe I could say it’s the excellent writing? Probably not though. Probably it’s just a ghoulish fascination with other people’s suffering. Since I can’t bring myself to read MisLit this is my only outlet!
  
  As most of you no doubt know, Krakauer was none too complimentary about brooding antihero, Anatoli Boukreev. Wherever I searched to indulge my morbid curiosity over the 1996 Everest disaster I would find the ardent members of Team Boukreev shouting his praises. Boukreev was framed! They said. Slandered! They cried. I knew Krakauer was not an impartial narrator and since I am now, as I said, obsessed, I’ve been reading even the most distantly related wikipedia page and talking to anyone fool enough to listen about my favourite character ANATOLI BOUKREEV. Altruistic hero or glory seeking villain?
  
  Well, soon it came to pass that one of my victims wedged this book (hard back) into my mouth to shut me up and so here I am reviewing it. I thought it was OK. It was poetic and in some places gave an interesting insight into Boukreev’s motivations and ambitions as a world class mountaineer. In places it felt apologetic or excusatory, especially if one has spent many nights reading specific criticisms of his actions.
  
  If you’re here looking for answers I think this book makes it quite clear that when you’re up a hill you make decisions and if you’re lucky you get walk down and spend a long time thinking about what led you to make those decisions. None of us without elite high altitude mountaineering experience can judge them.
• 
  Samiha Rabbani

  "Returning to the Everest region always brings me a feeling of relief, for I love the mountains...Such majesty is humbling, and one is reminded of how small humans are in the scheme of things."
  
  Anatoli Boukreev, one of the world’s greatest mountaineers and most gifted athletes, found home up at high altitude where most people would struggle just to stay alive. His capacity maybe understood by one simple statement, he summited world’s most 8000 meter peaks without supplemental oxygen and in record breaking time, Mt. Everest twice in that list.
  
  But surprisingly, his uniqueness was not his superhuman endurance or extraordinary climbing ability, rather his poetic view on life, his idea of significance of human endeavors and his never lasting love for the mountains, any mountain. Through his writing, his appreciation for the high intensity training and the joy of rest of the fatigued soul shines through. But above all, he portrays the significance and the priceless value of human life which have been lost many times on high mountains just by overestimating one’s ability or underestimating the all-consuming power of the mountain itself.
  
  This book is a narration of the life of an extra ordinary man who thought of himself nothing more than a sincere devotee and admirer of the mountains. The infamous 1996 Everest expedition made him popular for all the wrong reasons, although in that expedition he performed an unimaginable rescue work under a fatal blizzard that took the life of 8 people in one night. Anatoli was a man who believed with his heart that “the last word will always belong to the mountain” no matter how prepared or experienced a person is. Like his life, his death was also poetic. He was lost in an avalanche while climbing the Annapurna and was never found. The man of the mountains, went back to the mountains in the end. And maybe this time the mountains let the man have the last word too.
• 
  Rachielle

  "Returning to the Everest region always brings me a feeling of relief, for I love the mountains...Such majesty is humbling, and one is reminded of how small humans are in the scheme of things."
  
  This book inspires me for its honesty and its passion. Anatoli Boukreev shared his life as a world-class high-altitude mountaineer. He grappled with the loss of national identity as the USSR collapses in the late 1980's. His love for mountaineering continued, and in his notes and journals, he longed for the "peaks that prop the Tibetan sky." This was especially true after the controversy surrounding the disastrous climb to Mount Everest in 1996, which claimed the life of his American friend Scott Fischer. In these pages, Anatoli searches his soul, and instead of seeing the evil Russian villain presented in Jon Krakauer's book, Into Thin Air, we witness a gentle giant who literally died for the mountains that he loved.
  
• 
  LOL_BOOKS

  SOME OF THE INTERESTED IN MOUNT EVEREST MEMERS SHOULD READ ABOVE THE CLOUDS AND WIFE ANATOLI BOUKREEV WITH ME. IN ADDITION TO THE MOUNTAIN CLIMBING STUFF AND HIS THOUGHTS ON 1996, THERE IS ALSO A LOT ABOUT THE USSR BREAKING APART AND HOW IT AFFECTED HIM. HE COMES OFF SO DIFFERENTLY WRITING IN HIS FIRST LANGUAGE, AND HE TALKS ABOUT ALMOAST NOT EVEN WANTING TO CLIMB MOUNTAINS BUT BEING COMPELLED TO DO IT ANYWAY.
  
  READ IT AND COME BACK AND DD! HONESTLY SOME OF HIS WRITING IS RLY BEAUTIFUL. MY HEART BREAKS FOR HIM WHEN HE'S CLIMBING IN INAPPROPRIATE SHOES BECAUSE THEY'RE ALL HE'S GOT, AND WHEN HE GOES TO AMERICA AND JUST CAN'T FUCKING BELIEVE ALL THE GEAR THAT'S AVAILABLE.
• 
  James

  A great insight into the life of one of the world's most accomplished high altitude mountain climbers. The book is derived from his diaries that he wrote after his climbs. I truly enjoyed his insight into the training, and his training for the mountains. The 1996 disaster is explained, and Anatoli did the unimaginable in what he humanly could do, and even that, haunted him. I truly enjoyed this book from cover to cover. A tribute to a man that only wanted to be in the mountains.
• 
  Mahmut Oflaz

  Dağlar benim başarıya dönük tutkularımı tatmin edeceğim arenalar değildir. Onlar çok büyük ve saf katedrallerdir. Onlar benim dinimin ibadethanesidir. Ben dağları insanların tapındığı yer gibi görürüm. Onların sunağı üzerinde kendimi bedenen ve ruhen mükemmelleştirmeye uğraşırım. Onların karşısında yaşamımı anlamaya, kibirden, açgözlülükten ve korkudan arınmaya çalışırım. Onların yüce zirvelerinden b baktığımda geçmişimi görür, geleceğimi hayal eder ve sıra dışı bir duyarlılıkla bu anı yaşarım. Bu, mücadele gücümü tazeler ve görüşümü netleştirir. Dağlardayken, yaratılmış olmamı kutlarım. Çünkü her tırmanışta yeniden doğmuş gibi olurum.
• 
  Timmy

  A glorious book! Despite the fact that I'm afraid to go on hotel balconies above the 12th floor, there is nothing I enjoy more than escaping to 8,000 meters in the Himalayas while other people battle -70 degree temperatures, 80 mph winds, snow avalanches, blizzards, falling rock and worst of all....dehydration. A tremendous experience while on my rocking chair with a hot coffee, black.
  
  
  Above the Clouds....Five Stars!
• 
  Clio

  24 years ago yesterday, Anatoli Boukreev was swept away in an avalanche during his attempt to summit Annapurna at age 39. He is one of my climbing heroes because when you read his writing, he seems so genuine, focused, he’s got a vision of what he wants his life in the mountains to be like and makes steps towards it, sometimes struggling or moving in the wrong direction for a bit before redirecting. He had this highly respectable moral code and his climbing evidently had this magnetic pull on him. The collapse of the Soviet Union really pulled the rug out from under him in the Kazakh climbing scene and he had to find new ways to chase the financial support he needed to make a life pushing himself to his limits in the high peaks. Finding a way to make money in the mountains grated on him, he did not seem to want to sell himself and was highly conflicted about guiding unprepared hikers into high altitude zones.
  
  When he died, Anatoli was attempting what would have been his 12th of the world’s 14 8000m peaks. He was a strong, safe climber and I have no doubt he would have completed the set if he only had to rely on his own skills and hadn’t had to worry about external hazards like avalanche - but those hazards can never be separated from his sport and he always knew that. He still went to the “cathedral” of the high peaks to worship, not to conquer them, but just to become as high as them for a short moment.
• 
  T.J. Burr

  Above the Clouds Goes Above and Beyond Expectations
  This book is excellent reading for "armchair enthusiasts,” serious mountaineers, or anyone in between. Before reading this book, I did not even know who Anatoli was. Now, I see him as one of the true great mountaineers. I really related to his feelings for the mountains, and I share many of his philosophies regarding climbing. Reaching the summit is not success; to be successful, you must make it safely down. Even if Mallory and Irvine reached the summit of Everest, they didn't achieve success by living to tell about it.
  As a mountaineer and author, myself, I was incredibly pleased how easy I could relate to Anatoli's feelings and philosophies about the sport of mountaineering. On page 123 he states that he treated the mountains "like cathedrals where worship gives you strength and strips off the scale of ordinary life." He also told a different version of the accounts of the disastrous climbing month in May 1996 on Mt. Everest, which catapulted high altitude mountaineering to the front pages of newspapers around the world. I still view Reinhold Messner as the best mountaineer of all time, but had Anatoli lived longer he would have surely closed the gap.
  TJ Burr
  Mountaineer/Author
  "Rocky Mountain Adventure Collection"
  
• 
  Thomas

  A fantastic glimpse of the famously quiet and misunderstood "tolya," who prevented the deaths (or actively saved from death) many climbers during his career as a climber.
  
  Anatoli's public image suffered after the 1996 disaster when armchair climbers judged this incredible man for not saving more people. He condemned himself constantly for not doing more, as he did on other expeditions where he felt that his financial situation or his poor english made his expertise less appetizing.
  
  There's a word for demanding too much of those we idolize and perceive as superhuman, and eventually killing them with our pressure and constant demands that they save us. This is what the world did to Anatoli, in my opinion after reading his journals from 1980-1997. The world consumed Anatoli Boukreev and made his life difficult, just as it has done to countless great men and women before and since.
• 
  Blu3yy

  Fabulous read. RIP Anatili, thank you for your stories and wonderfully sketching the mountains, your thoughts and heartache.
  
  Above the clouds - diary of a high altitude mountaineer. I absolute loved this book. You think you know the definition of passion, you haven't read this book. Pure passion and endurance.
  
  Favourite quotes
  "I am a sportsman, and for me a mountaintop is not worth the sacrifice of my life."
  
  Who has gone far away, experiencing the pain of separation, and not known the joy of homecoming?
  
  For a human to appreciate the mundane, habitual features of life, they must lose them for a while.
  
  After years of self-analysis, I know that the ability to fall asleep after hard work is an indication that my body is properly adjusting to the altitude.
  
  Men and women are judged not for what they have or where they come from, but who they are in hard circumstances.
• 
  Jamie

  Interesting books where biography, history and diary are merged into one. Boukreev is mostly know as a one-dimensional Russian bad guy, due to Jon Krakauer's opinions about Everest 1996. This book shows there is much more to Boukreev than this one sided account: he was a top high altitude climber who climbed many mountains, but also a man who struggled with the downfall of the USSR, his new position in the world and the search for meaning in his life. All-in-all a very interesting read. 4 stars.
• 
  James

  Better than Krakauer's silly account,
  
  Some of the photos are just mug shots,
  but others are really great.
  
  Best photo I've seen of Everest from south col to Hillary step & summit.
  and many other really good photos
• 
  Clara Mazzi

  Anatoli Boukreev (1958 – 1997) è stato un forte alpinista russo. Grande amico di Simone Moro, con cui ha scalato il Lhotse e l’Annapurna, troverà la morte su quest’ultima, nel 1997, all’età di 39 anni, dopo essere scampato un anno prima alla tragedia sull’Everest, quella del 1996 descritta da John Krakauer in “Aria sottile”, in cui il giornalista americano aveva, tra le molteplici critiche, accusato Anatoli di aver lasciato morire (l’affascinante!) Scott Fisher. Il mondo alpinistico si solleverà in difesa di Tolya (tra cui Simone Moro e Galen Rowell) ma nonostante l’affetto, la solidarietà e la bravura di Boukreev, non è riuscito a raggiungermi – né lui come persona, né il suo libro (che lo riflette).
  Il primo dettaglio che mi ha tenuta a distanza è il suo ribadire la sua scarsa conoscenza dell’inglese: sebbene si fosse, oltre a tutto, trasferito negli States, non ha mai ventilato l’ipotesi di apprenderlo; era ben consapevole quanto questo fosse un (grave) handicap, specialmente nel suo lavoro (faticava a parlare bene coi clienti, coi datori di lavoro, coi giornalisti) eppure non si impegna. Perché? Sarà che io sono talmente una grande chiacchierona che ho deciso di imparare 3 lingue per poter parlare con più persone possibili e quindi mi risulta lontano chi decide di non aprirsi agli altri, tuttavia un conto è non essere interessati ad aprirsi agli altri, un altro è fare un lavoro in cui la comunicazione è fondamentale e non impegnarvisi.
  Successivamente, Boukreev non scrive molto bene – e non è stato aiutato (o forse non l’ha voluto lui, come non gli interessava comunicare con gli altri?). Il suo libro è una lunghissima lista di azioni, esplicitata da un periodare estremamente elementare (soggetto/verbo/complemento: “Mi sono svegliato. Sono rimasto nel sacco a pelo ancora per un po’. Mi sono preparato un te. Ho chiuso lo zaino. Ho controllato le previsioni del tempo. Sono uscito dalla tenda. Ho cominciato la salita. Avevo un po’ di tosse.”) focalizzata soprattutto sulle varie azioni. In sua difesa, va detto che in paio di punti, Anatoli esterna delle riflessioni interessanti, soprattutto quelle che concernono i confronti tra gli alpinisti che emergono da un paese comunista e quelli invece di un paese capitalista, ma sono troppo poche rispetto a tutto il resto – che risulta una lettura abbastanza monotona e noiosa: come già ribadito altrove, non è obbligatorio saper scrivere, però se si vuole pubblicare un libro sì, è necessario, per lo meno sarebbe opportuno avere affianco un editor.
  Sebbene l’immagine complessiva che emerge di Boukreev sia quella di una persona mite e gentile, emerge altrettanto la sua incapacità di interagire con le persone, che già era segnalata dalla sua poca voglia di imparare l’inglese (e quindi di relazionarsi con le persone che aveva attorno): vuoi per limitatezza linguistica (come detto sopra), vuoi anche per una sua attitudine personale a muoversi e ad agire come una “macchina”, come un “robot” (sue parole), atteggiamento che indiscutibilmente l’hanno reso un alpinista forte ma umanamente non così interessante. Ancora una volta: non è obbligatorio essere un alpinista E essere simpatico o umanamente caloroso e generoso, ma se si vuole scrivere un libro almeno va spiegata e analizzata questa parte di sé così poco prona all’interazione con gli altri che però vuole apparire sulla pagina scritta. Altrettanto Anatoli non è riuscito a raggiungermi perché mi è sempre sembrato che nei momenti cruciali sia più una persona pronta a fare un passo indietro (per mettersi in salvo) che non osare, sia che si fosse trattato di un salvataggio che del raggiungimento di una cima. Indubbiamente è importante la propria salvaguardia, ma se si vuole raccontare un’avventura, c’è bisogno dell’atto di coraggio, di quel momento di suspence che poi va a finire bene: se si preferisce non viverli (e va benissimo!) allora però non se ne dovrebbe fare un libro…
  Mi dispiace, ma né Anatoli né il suo libro mi hanno raggiunta.
  
• 
  Skirmantė Rugsėjis

  Labai gera dokumentinė istorija, kurioje atskleidžiama visai kita ruso alpinisto pusė nei papasakota žurnalisto J.Krakauer knygoje "Into thin air". Iki tol susidarytas egoisto žmogaus, kuris bet kokia kaina siekia savo tikslų spjaudamas į kitus, portretas sugriūva ir atsiskleidžia visai kitas - ramaus ir uždaro būdo žmogaus, kuris kalnus mylėjo labiau už viską pasaulyje. Pateikiamos jo dienoraščių ištraukos ir turiu pripažinti, kad mane sužavėjo be galo paprastas ir tuo pačiu gilus mąstymas bei savitas jo požiūris į pasaulį. Jis mokėjo žavėtis pačia gamta, ne vien rekordų gerinimais ir tai puikiai atspindi jo mintys. Dienoraščiuose Anatolijus nebijo pasijuokti iš savęs, to, kad kartais sunkiai susikalbėdavo su anglakalbiais, nebando savęs išsaukštinti vien rašydamas apie pasiekimus, priešingai - skaudžiai ir atvirai pasakoja apie nesėkmes.
  Pateikiama nemažai dokumentikos apie Rusijos alpinizmą apskritai, pirmuosius alpinistus, jų pasiekimus, lyginama su Jungtinių Valstijų tuometiniu lygiu, bet didelės politinės įtakos nei į vieną pusę nesijaučia. Anatolijus paliečia ir skaudžias jaunimo problemas - narkotikus, alkoholį ir svarsto, kad Rusiją ši blogybė palietė net labiau nei Ameriką.
  Knygos anglų kalbos lygis vidutinis, skaitosi lengvai, yra šiek tiek alpinizmui būdingų terminų, bet nieko itin sudėtingo. Būtina perskaityti tiems, kas skaitė J.Krakauer knygą "Into thin air", kad įvykiai būtų nušviesti iš abiejų pusių ir skaitytojai suprastų, kad ne visada reikia aklai pasitikėti žymiomis pavardėmis ir žurnalisto profesija. Žmonės besivaikantys reitingų ir sensacijų kartais paaukoja kitus vardan savo šlovės, taip pasielgė ir minėtas autorius/žurnalistas.
• 
  MJ

  I read this after finishing Krakauer's Into Thin Air. The foreword/introduction of Above the Clouds was off-putting simply because the author of that portion of the book made Boukreev out to be someone who was too perfect to be human (and his anger toward Krakauer wasn't disguised at all) - I actually did not finish reading the book's introduction. And I didn't read this to decide whether Boukreev was blameless regarding what happened on Everest in 1996 (maybe the only way for him to avoid the backlash that year was to also die?). I decided to read this so I could read about the life of someone who lived (and died) for the mountains he climbed. I appreciated his perspectives, and his reverence for the places that he felt called to.
  
  I enjoyed this book for its insights into the psyche of a mountaineer, and the early life of the now defunct USSR. I also enjoyed his thoughts on his climbs.
  
  I only question how heavily his original writing was edited, given that his companion was the one who edited this work. How complete is it? How much has been lost in translation?
  
  Now I want to read Into Thin Air, because it seems I haven't read enough about high altitude deaths.
• 
  Diane

  I approached this book with some hesitation. I had read Jon Krakauer’s account of the 1996 Everest disaster and had a fairly strong opinion about Anatoli Boukreev’s choice to not use oxygen when he was a guide responsible for a number of amateur climbers. Surprise! The book captivated me – at least part of the book.
  
  There are two parts of the book. Some chapters were written by Anatoli’s friends and climbing partners. (Anatoli was killed in an avalanche on Annapurna in December 1997.) These accounts are like eulogies and, although I understand why a person would write a eulogy for a friend killed while climbing, eulogies are not really that revealing or interesting – my own family often laughs about how a person who has died gets better and better with time.
  
  However, the other part of the book is extracts from Anataoli’s writings – diaries and letters and writings both published and unpublished. This part of the book was everything I look for – why he climbed, how the atmosphere around climbing changed over time, what role nationalism plays in climbing, reflections on use of oxygen or not, reflections on climbing solo or with groups, and many other topics. I love being positively surprised by a book.
  
• 
  Wyrm Watson

  A love letter to the art of mountaineering and human endurance
  
  This book is going to remain with me for a long time. What started out as passive listening to cave disasters has now opened up my world to altitudes beyond my understanding but Boukreev does an eloquent job of breaking down how life in the world’s tallest mountains is really like, and does so with a beautiful comprehension of language lost to his non-Russian speaking clients and coworkers. Having no sports experience or passion myself, his careful narrative of his methods and dreams gives me a new perspective on why someone enjoys pushing their bodies to the limit and the genuine joys of passing out past exhausted in a sleeping bag at 7900 meters. “No summit is gained without pain,” he said. That and many of his other impassioned paragraphs of prose are still relatable even at the lower elevation I’m currently typing at. If a reader has any interest diving into the psyche of such a special, almost supernaturally gifted man swept away from us too soon in Annapurna, then I cannot recommend this book enough. His perspective is one that shouldn’t be lost to time.
• 
  Sonia Almeida Dias (Peixinho de Prata)

  
  I have just finished reading "The Climb" and realized I had another book from Anatoli Boukreev on my library, this one. Some reason compelled me to pick it up, as I wanted to have more insight in his mind, and these journals seemed to be perfect for that.
  
  I was not disappointed. More than just some climbing tales, we get a glimpse of what it was like to be a high performance athlete in the USSR, to have the sense of belonging to something bigger, to work with a broader purpose than just fulfill his personal ambition.
  And then we see all that crumble as the USSR dissolves, and difficult it was to cope in the new reality and to be able to keep fueling a passion that was no longer a priority in the place he lived.
  
  It was a very interesting read, and I've learnt a lot from it. I recommend it to all those that love mountaineering and the big outdoors.
• 
  Sankar

  Life of a human being is like a line or a curve. We happen to tag along or cross that at some random point and unless we happen to be there from the very beginning, it is almost impossible to know anyone.
  
  Memoirs, letters and diary entries are the closest we can come to know them truly for it is here that they are likely to reveal themselves without any pretense or fear or expectations.
  
  This is a fascinating insight into the life of an elite mountaineer and very true to his Russian soul.
• 
  Derek

  Another worthwhile read in regards to the incident in 1996 on Everest. Although he is a bit brash and aggressive in personality and mentality on the mountain, his story is very believable. He was also corroborated by several others in the know. A good story of his climbing life, as well as the simplicity and satisfaction of it all that inspired him so. An unfortunate way for his story to end, on Annapurna.