2006-06-04 Stunning Photography

Okay, so this book is more a collection of briefly narrated colour photographs than page upon page of deftly written mountaineering prose. All the better for it. The pictures in this book surpass anything the best writers could ever hope to convey to the reader about the extraordinary beauty and immense hazards presented by these enchanting mountains. From incredible panoramas to breathtaking summit shots, this book takes you right to the peaks from your armchair.

The photographs of Viesturs' unsuccessful attempts to summit Annapurna encapsulate both the beauty and the risks, for the mountain possesses an infamous reputation: the greatest ratio of fatalities to summiteers. Since this book (Feb 2003), Viesturs has completed his task of conquering all fourteen of the +8,000m peaks but turn to the photos at the rear and you will see why he aborted two attempts at Annapurna, leaving it until last.

Despite being one of the best mountaineers in the world, Ed Viesturs could have quite easily made a living out of photography. His pictures supply you with more to inspire your imagination than any amount of text, albeit that the accompanying text is also well written.

My only criticism is that the correlation between maps, narrative and photographs could have been better in a few places. Nevertheless, the book is still worth every penny/cent/rupee.