Listen free for 30 days
-
No Shortcuts to the Top
- Climbing the World's 14 Highest Peaks
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Biographies & Memoirs, Adventurers, Explorers & Survival
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Listen with a free trial
Buy Now for £25.69
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Will to Climb
- Obsession and Commitment and the Quest to Climb Annapurna - the World's Deadliest Peak
- By: David Roberts, Ed Viesturs
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The best-selling author of No Shortcuts to the Top and K2 chronicles his three attempts to climb the world's tenth-highest and statistically deadliest peak, Annapurna in the Himalaya, while exploring the dramatic and tragic history of others who have made - or attempted - the ascent, and what these exploits teach us about facing life's greatest challenges.
-
-
A true, engaging documentary
- By Akemi on 03-12-19
-
Savage Arena
- By: Joe Tasker
- Narrated by: Stewart Crank
- Length: 13 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Joe Tasker lies, struck down by illness, in a damp, bug-infested room in the Himalaya, wondering if he will be well enough to climb Dunagiri, his first venture to the "big" mountains. One of Britain’s foremost mountaineers and a pioneer of lightweight climbing, he is about to attempt one of the first true "Alpine-style" climbs in the Greater Ranges. The Dunagiri attempt forms part of Tasker’s striking tale of adventure in the savage arena of the mountains.
-
-
wow 👏 what a book great listen
- By travel18 on 06-01-21
-
The Summit
- By: Pemba Gyalje Sherpa, Pat Falvey
- Narrated by: Pat Falvey
- Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On 1 August, 2008, 18 climbers from across the world reached the summit of K2, the world's second-highest and most dangerous mountain - a peak that claims the life of one in every four climbers who attempt it. Over the course of 28 hours K2 had exacted a deadly toll: 11 lives were lost in a series of catastrophic accidents.
-
-
Truly gripping story
- By Phil on 30-11-15
-
Beyond Possible
- The man and the mindset that summitted K2 in winter
- By: Nimsdai Purja
- Narrated by: Elliot Fitzpatrick
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An SBS Gurkha soldier's account of how his tough Nepali upbringing and the lessons learned in his army life enabled his record-breaking conquest of all 14 of the world's 8,000m peaks in under seven months. What happens when ambition meets limitless imagination? Enter Project Possible: a seemingly unreachable goal to climb all 14 'death zone' mountains in record time. The previous record was seven years, 10 months and six days. I did it in six months.
-
-
Amazing feat, but...
- By Benjamin Mason on 03-02-21
-
K2
- Life and Death on the World's Most Dangerous Mountain
- By: Ed Viesturs, David Roberts
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In K2: Life and Death on the World's Most Dangerous Mountain, Viesturs explores the remarkable history of the mountain and of those who have attempted to conquer it. At the same time he probes K2's most memorable sagas in an attempt to illustrate the lessons learned by confronting the fundamental questions raised by mountaineering - questions of risk, ambition, loyalty to one's teammates, self-sacrifice, and the price of glory.
-
-
Fascinating chronicle of the difficulties of K2
- By D. J. Pritchard on 08-11-15
-
Touching the Void
- By: Joe Simpson
- Narrated by: Andrew Wincott, Daniel Weyman
- Length: 6 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Joe Simpson, with just his partner, Simon Yates, tackled the unclimbed West Face of the remote 21,000-foot Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes in June of 1995. But before they reached the summit, disaster struck. A few days later, Simon staggered into Base Camp, exhausted and frostbitten, to tell their non-climbing companion that Joe was dead. For three days he wrestled with guilt as they prepared to return home. Then a cry in the night took them out with torches, where they found Joe, badly injured.
-
-
Fantastic listen/read
- By Blair Ferguson on 13-04-13
-
The Will to Climb
- Obsession and Commitment and the Quest to Climb Annapurna - the World's Deadliest Peak
- By: David Roberts, Ed Viesturs
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The best-selling author of No Shortcuts to the Top and K2 chronicles his three attempts to climb the world's tenth-highest and statistically deadliest peak, Annapurna in the Himalaya, while exploring the dramatic and tragic history of others who have made - or attempted - the ascent, and what these exploits teach us about facing life's greatest challenges.
-
-
A true, engaging documentary
- By Akemi on 03-12-19
-
Savage Arena
- By: Joe Tasker
- Narrated by: Stewart Crank
- Length: 13 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Joe Tasker lies, struck down by illness, in a damp, bug-infested room in the Himalaya, wondering if he will be well enough to climb Dunagiri, his first venture to the "big" mountains. One of Britain’s foremost mountaineers and a pioneer of lightweight climbing, he is about to attempt one of the first true "Alpine-style" climbs in the Greater Ranges. The Dunagiri attempt forms part of Tasker’s striking tale of adventure in the savage arena of the mountains.
-
-
wow 👏 what a book great listen
- By travel18 on 06-01-21
-
The Summit
- By: Pemba Gyalje Sherpa, Pat Falvey
- Narrated by: Pat Falvey
- Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On 1 August, 2008, 18 climbers from across the world reached the summit of K2, the world's second-highest and most dangerous mountain - a peak that claims the life of one in every four climbers who attempt it. Over the course of 28 hours K2 had exacted a deadly toll: 11 lives were lost in a series of catastrophic accidents.
-
-
Truly gripping story
- By Phil on 30-11-15
-
Beyond Possible
- The man and the mindset that summitted K2 in winter
- By: Nimsdai Purja
- Narrated by: Elliot Fitzpatrick
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An SBS Gurkha soldier's account of how his tough Nepali upbringing and the lessons learned in his army life enabled his record-breaking conquest of all 14 of the world's 8,000m peaks in under seven months. What happens when ambition meets limitless imagination? Enter Project Possible: a seemingly unreachable goal to climb all 14 'death zone' mountains in record time. The previous record was seven years, 10 months and six days. I did it in six months.
-
-
Amazing feat, but...
- By Benjamin Mason on 03-02-21
-
K2
- Life and Death on the World's Most Dangerous Mountain
- By: Ed Viesturs, David Roberts
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In K2: Life and Death on the World's Most Dangerous Mountain, Viesturs explores the remarkable history of the mountain and of those who have attempted to conquer it. At the same time he probes K2's most memorable sagas in an attempt to illustrate the lessons learned by confronting the fundamental questions raised by mountaineering - questions of risk, ambition, loyalty to one's teammates, self-sacrifice, and the price of glory.
-
-
Fascinating chronicle of the difficulties of K2
- By D. J. Pritchard on 08-11-15
-
Touching the Void
- By: Joe Simpson
- Narrated by: Andrew Wincott, Daniel Weyman
- Length: 6 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Joe Simpson, with just his partner, Simon Yates, tackled the unclimbed West Face of the remote 21,000-foot Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes in June of 1995. But before they reached the summit, disaster struck. A few days later, Simon staggered into Base Camp, exhausted and frostbitten, to tell their non-climbing companion that Joe was dead. For three days he wrestled with guilt as they prepared to return home. Then a cry in the night took them out with torches, where they found Joe, badly injured.
-
-
Fantastic listen/read
- By Blair Ferguson on 13-04-13
-
The Climb
- Tragic Ambitions on Everest
- By: Anatoli Boukreev
- Narrated by: Richard Davidson
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Anatoli Boukreev’s first-hand account of the worst human disaster in the history of Mt. Everest will hold listeners spellbound. A top-rated guide and high altitude climber, Boukreev dictated the raw and powerful details of this ill-fated trek from memories and notes recorded just five days after the catastrophe. In May of 1996, 33 people went up the mountain, but only 28 returned. As two commercial expeditions climbed the world’s highest peak, poor planning, miscommunication, and an unpredictable blizzard conspired to defeat them.
-
-
compelling!
- By Amazon Customer on 11-07-17
-
A Life on the Edge
- Memoirs of Everest and Beyond
- By: Jim Whittaker
- Narrated by: Traber Burns
- Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In May of 1963, Seattle mountaineer Jim Whittaker stepped into world history by becoming the first American to summit Mount Everest. More than 50 years later, he is still regarded as a seminal figure in North American mountaineering, as well as an astute businessman who helped create the outdoor recreation industry. A Life on the Edge: Memoirs of Everest and Beyond is Jim's courageous, no-punches-pulled autobiography and a look at a peripatetic, sometimes difficult life.
-
-
A really interesting and inspiring book
- By Victoria S. on 08-04-22
-
Eiger Dreams
- Ventures Among Men and Mountains
- By: Jon Krakauer
- Narrated by: Philip Franklin
- Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
No one writes about mountaineering and its attendant victories and hardships more brilliantly than Jon Krakauer. In this collection of his finest essays and reporting, Krakauer writes of mountains from the memorable perspective of one who has himself struggled with solo madness to scale Alaska's notorious Devils Thumb.
-
-
Step by step excitement
- By Amazon Customer on 16-06-19
-
Into Thin Air
- By: Jon Krakauer
- Narrated by: Philip Franklin
- Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of the inspirations for the major motion picture Everest, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Keira Knightley. This is the true story of a 24-hour period on Everest when members of three separate expeditions were caught in a storm and faced a battle against hurricane-force winds, exposure, and the effects of altitude, which ended the worst single-season death toll in the peak's history.
-
-
Exceeded expectations
- By Steve S on 08-11-16
-
Dark Summit
- The True Story of Everest's Most Controversial Season
- By: Nick Heil
- Narrated by: David Drummond
- Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In early May 2006, a young British climber named David Sharp lay dying near the top of Mount Everest while forty other climbers walked past him on their way to the summit. A week later, Lincoln Hall, a seasoned Australian climber, was left for dead near the same spot. Hall's death was reported around the world, but the next day he was found alive after spending the night on the upper mountain with no food and no shelter.
-
-
Utterly full of journo speak
- By Rose on 11-02-19
-
Ascent into Hell
- By: Fergus White
- Narrated by: Roger Clark
- Length: 13 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There is but one aim: the summit, the summit of Mount Everest. What starts with a trouble-free trek into the Nepalese highlands explodes into a gripping tale of hardship, peril and adversity. Pushed beyond their physical and mental limits, climbers drop by the wayside. Their primal instincts for survival battle with their dogged resolve to drag themselves to the top of the world. But the focus remains: battle to the summit, and if successful, somehow get back down again.
-
-
Best mountain book i've listened to
- By RonanFromEire on 19-05-20
-
Ascent
- By: Sir Chris Bonington
- Narrated by: Gordon Griffin
- Length: 15 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hear Sir Chris Bonington's extraordinary story, read by Gordon Griffin. His memoir, Ascent, charts not only his many triumphs in the climbing world - such as the Eiger and the Himalayas - but also the struggles he has faced in his life bringing up a family and maintaining a successful and loving marriage over the decades of travelling the world to conquer mountains.
-
-
Ascent
- By Anonymous User on 04-12-17
-
Seven Steps from Snowdon to Everest
- A Hill Walker's Journey to the Top of the World
- By: Mark Horrell
- Narrated by: Philip Battley
- Length: 11 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As he teetered on a narrow rock ledge, a yak's bellow short of the stratosphere, with a rubber mask strapped to his face, a pair of mittens the size of a sea lion's flippers, and a drop of two kilometres below him, it's fair to say Mark Horrell wasn't entirely happy with the situation he found himself in. He had been an ordinary hiker who had only read books about mountaineering. When he signed up for an organized trek in Nepal with a group of elderly ladies, little did he know that ten years later he would be attempting to climb the world's highest mountain.
-
-
Entertaining book for adventurers
- By "mattfid" on 11-08-21
-
Alone on the Wall (Expanded Edition)
- By: Alex Honnold, David Roberts
- Narrated by: Andrew Eiden, Will Damron
- Length: 8 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alone on the Wall recounts the most astonishing achievements of Honnold's extraordinary life and career, brimming with lessons on living fearlessly, taking risks, and maintaining focus even in the face of extreme danger. Now Honnold tells, for the first time and in his own words, the story of his three hours and 56 minutes on the sheer face of El Cap, which Outside called "the moon landing of free soloing.... A generation-defining climb. Bad ass and beyond words.... One of the pinnacle sporting moments of all time."
-
-
Shame Alex didn’t narrated
- By aymerand dupuy on 26-09-20
-
Everest the Cruel Way
- By: Joe Tasker
- Narrated by: Stewart Crank
- Length: 6 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On 30 January, 1981 Joe Tasker and Ade Burgess stood at 24,000 feet on the west ridge of Mount Everest. Below them were their companions, some exhausted, some crippled by illness, all virtually incapacitated. Further progress seemed impossible. Everest the Cruel Way is Joe Tasker's story of an attempt to climb the highest mountain on earth - an attempt which pushed a group of Britain's finest mountaineers to their limits. The goal had been to climb Mount Everest at its hardest: via the infamous west ridge, without supplementary oxygen and in winter.
-
-
People Will Climb Mountains
- By SocialGoose on 28-09-19
-
The Shining Mountain
- By: Peter Boardman
- Narrated by: Stewart Crank
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"It’s a preposterous plan. Still, if you do get up it, it’ll be the hardest thing that’s been done in the Himalayas." Thus spoke Chris Bonington when Peter Boardman and Joe Tasker presented him with their plan to tackle the unscaled West Wall of Changabang - the Shining Mountain - in 1976. Bonington’s was one of the more positive responses; most felt the climb impossibly hard, especially for a two-man, lightweight expedition.
-
-
Excellent
- By Mrs Susan J Fraser-Smith on 01-10-20
-
Ghosts of K2
- By: Mick Conefrey
- Narrated by: Barnaby Edwards
- Length: 12 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At 28,251 feet, K2 might be almost 800 feet shorter than Everest, but it’s a far harder climb. It will kill you on the way up and the way down. Mick Conefrey guides us through the early story of the legendary mountain and the extraordinary attempts that led up to its first ascent in 1954 - these are tales of riveting drama and unimaginable tragedy.
-
-
The story behind the story - very good
- By Andrew on 04-11-15
Summary
For 18 years, Ed Viesturs pursued climbing's holy grail: to stand atop the world's 14 8,000-meter peaks, without the aid of bottled oxygen. But No Shortcuts to the Top is as much about the man who would become the first American to achieve that goal as it is about his stunning quest. As Viesturs recounts the stories of his most harrowing climbs, he reveals a man torn between the flat, safe world he and his loved ones share and the majestic and deadly places where only he can go.
A preternaturally cautious climber who once turned back 300 feet from the top of Everest but who would not shrink from a peak (Annapurna) known to claim the life of one climber for every two who reached its summit, Viesturs lives by an unyielding motto: "Reaching the summit is optional. Getting down is mandatory." It is with this philosophy that he vividly describes fatal errors in judgment made by his fellow climbers, as well as a few of his own close calls and gallant rescues. And, for the first time, he details his own pivotal and heroic role in the 1996 Everest disaster made famous in Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air.
No Shortcuts to the Top is more than the first full account of one of the staggering accomplishments of our time; it is a portrait of a brave and devoted family man and the beliefs that shaped this most perilous and magnificent pursuit.
More from the same
What listeners say about No Shortcuts to the Top
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
- Emma
- 04-02-07
Are you an 8000 m mountain nerd?
Breathtaking achievement. If like me you are obsessed about anything to do with mountain climbing you will love this. If you're not a 'mountain nerd' you will probably find this too long and too dry. Alot about this book is repetative, after all its a collection of stories about climbing 8000 m climbs, in essence its the same story over and over. Not for everyone but i loved it.
8 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Haydn
- 11-09-12
Insight into an elite world
This book lets you see into the elite world of extreme mountaineering and the challenges faced by its top people. Not just the challenges of reaching the peaks time after time but seeing and hearing their loved friends chewed up or killed, as well as considering their spouses and children. There is a new perspective on the Everest disaster which is worth hearing if you have read books about it. The only negative
was that the narrators tone and phrasing took a little while to get used to but stick with it as you adjust after the first chapters.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
- S. Oliver
- 07-12-09
Inspiring book
Great book, especially for a keen climber that want to do more mountain climbing.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- steven
- 17-03-22
fantastic
an inspiring and humble account of 1 man's goals , well written serious with some qwerky humour
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jozef Mikula
- 25-02-22
love the book
I had to finish the full book in one day from start to end.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- DownFall15200
- 09-08-21
Excellent insight into the world of 8000ers
Fantastic look into the mentality of one of the most accomplished mountaineers of all time.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Andrew Warhurst
- 21-06-21
Ed Viesturs what an achievement
The story this book tells is captivating from the start. What Ed Viesturs has achieved in his life is truly amazing. From listening to the books he seems to tell it like it is with all emotion laid bare.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- S L Jones
- 20-04-21
A good listen but a bit “me, me, me”
Having read & really enjoyed a number of books on mountaineering I found this to be an enjoyable & incite-full listen for the most part. My only dislike were what felt like “self ego inflating” pockets from the author (who has undoubtedly achieved what many could not) but perhaps this could be put down to the delivery of the reader rather than content? Despite this I found myself taken on a journey that I have huge amounts of respect for and would recommend it to anyone interested in climbing.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- TheMayQueen
- 10-04-21
Can recommend!
I love this book. I've listened to it several times now and it just takes me right to the mountain. Ed comes across as a little self-indulgent at times (it really doesn't distract from the narrative at all), but there is no doubt that he's one of the most experienced, responsible, and knowledgeable mountaineers out there today. It's a massively engaging listen/read.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- George Walker
- 21-03-21
Excellent and inspiring.
Probably the best mountain audio book I've listened to. Very compelling listening. Narration was exceptional as well!
-
Overall

- Anatoliy
- 05-04-10
NO SHORTCUTS
I read allot of mountaineering books. Ed Viesturs story is one of my favorites. Not only has time proved him to be one of the world’s premier mountaineers, but the narrative this book shows that it is not by luck that he lives to tell the tale. Viesturs is proven to be a man of resolve, character, and discernment. I was apprehensive of reading this book because of many reviews that told of a boastful man who is full of himself. Nobody wants to read a 350 page work of hubris and self adulation. As I read this book and gained respect for the man, I realized that some have mistaken his realistic evaluation of situations as self congratulation. This is an error. Viesturs is an extra-ordinary (not ordinary) man. So when he recalls things that are just recollections of his reality, some may interpret this as a huge ego. However, it is his ability to make clear and unemotional judgments about situations that has gotten him not only up, but down the mountains he has climbed. This is unlike the self flagellation of some who profess humility, while clearly seething with pride at their own meekness. Viesturs makes no such claims.
Buy this book, learn from Ed Viesturs, enjoy.
17 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Greg
- 18-06-14
Vicarious Immersion into this Rare World!
Any additional comments?
This book, unabridged, is the primer and introduction for one who might want to lose oneself in this genre of books. High altitude mountaineering is grand drama, with killing cold, and with oxygen starvation that hobbles the brain and causes the body to consume itself. This is where storms appear out of nowhere, and simple injuries can become a death sentence, because help often is unavailable. Fiction is unnecessary because up here the true stories are incredible.
Yes, Dr. Viesturs’ book uses the word “I” a lot: It’s an autobiography as well as an overview. Arguably the world’s best, the guy practices great safety discipline, and deals in facts. He also is a superb historian of the mountaineering culture, and he describes that community in a way that lets you decide whether or not to immerse further. I went for it. I listened to ALL the Viesturs books, plus several others. Exception: The superb *Himalyan Quest* book of full-page photographs. It puts things into perspective, and must be enjoyed in paper form.
Look, we can’t all climb these mountains, but we can read, and watch movies and videos. This book is the primer. It fascinates while it gives you a taste. Then, if you choose to immerse as I did, you can enjoy scores of hours of wonderful entertainment, as you climb the world’s highest mountains in your armchair.
11 people found this helpful
-
Overall

- Cassi
- 25-07-09
Big Ego conquers Big Mountains
I have read many climbing books, including nearly everything in print written about Everest '96. Although the tragic Everest season of '96 is just a portion of this book about Viesturs' 'Endeavor 8000' (or whatever goofy name he gave it), the book seems to be less a narrative of the climbs and more of self-praise book about the man.
I found it especially odd how Viesturs continually inserts direct quotes and snippets from other climbers that gush praise over his climbing prowess. A lot of "Here's what so-and-so had to say about my superior guiding skills and incredible preparation... yadda, yadda". I especially had to laugh when Viesturs comments about leaving his pregnant wife for one of his Himalayan adventures, promising to check on her frequently by sat-phone. As his focus shifts to climbing, and he indicates his wife's displeasure over lack of communication via sat-phone, he writes it off saying, "Some people might have found (her) to be unreasonable, but I knew I had to focus on the mountain...".
He's generous in offering critique and criticism of others - from climbers to sponsors to family & friends, to the point of being obnoxious. Anyone who dares to question his decision-making or his tactics, he immediately trashes. I found it very hard to listen to at points.
I also found the narration to add to the tone of condescension - I don't think Stephen Hoye was the best choice for this one, as he seemed to add a note of whine to mix.
Bottom line: other climbing authors - from Krakauer to Boukreev, to virtually anybody else, frankly - offer better and more humble and respectful accounts of man vs. mountain. This was a turn-off. Even though I once was a Viesturs admirer,
I am no longer.
24 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Amazon Customer
- 31-07-12
Some good, some bad
Now, Ed has an amazing physical condition along with unique genes that allows him to climb without bottle oxygen. At the same time, he makes a series of good decisions that curtail several climbs when it didn't seem right. He lived to tell the tale and climb again next season. So why didn't I like the book?
Ed tells his story in which he is the only person that can sense good climbing conditions when all around him, make bad decisions in continuing to climb. He talks about his instincts, a lot. Perhaps it was the manner in which it was written that makes Ed look like he has a big ego. Perhaps better editing would have have softened some of these disagreeable moments. I would like to think that Ed is more humble in person then this books suggest. I would just liked something more definitive then instincts as a reason to perform an action. In the end, better editing would have forced him to be more precise as to his motives and reasons to act as he did on the mountains. Still, Ed is around to write his story when so many died along the way.
8 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Scott
- 24-09-15
Great story.. Narrated by the most boring person
What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?
Story is great sadly the narrator kills it for me
How did the narrator detract from the book?
SOOO boring, emphasis on things was strange. odd inflections.. something just bugged me about the way he read it.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Sally Thompson
- 26-09-19
inspiring
I finished listening to this book in 2 days. The story is amazing. The narrator is engaging. You do not need to know anything about mountain climbing, or even be interested in it to enjoy this book. Absolutely awe inspiring.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Ziggy Books
- 23-08-19
Extraordinary lessons for life!
Loved every word of it. Great lessons for lige through a theme close to me. Narration extremely good as well.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall

- John
- 24-06-07
Self-serving
My wife listened to this book with me for a while, but said she had to stop listening because she was bored with the author droning on about how great he is. I humored her and listened to the rest of it on my own. I have to admit that she's right. Mr. Visteurs does think more highly of himself than the average person and I too became disenchanted when he cites passage after passage of all the great things that other people wrote about him. I did enjoy the climbing stories, however, and he did accomplish something I would only dream of, so I guess he's entitled to a certain amount of self-congratulations. Overall, there are better mountain-climbing books out there and I would recommend skipping this one.
13 people found this helpful
-
Overall

- Susan
- 01-05-08
A Slice of Humble Pie
Only 5 minutes into this book I was convinced that Ed. V is the most arrogant author I've ever encountered. I continued with this book only because I was curious whether his comments could get any worse. The good news is they do not. The bad news is they also don't get any better, or more humble.
Frankly, I'm surprised this man has summitted anything - his ego is so big it must be difficult to drag along.
11 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Amazon Customer
- 05-09-21
Hours of him talking about how awesome he is
Does not compare to adventurous and reflective books written by alpinists Barry Blanchard and Steve House.
1 person found this helpful