2003-09-12 A WOMAN'S PLACE IS ON TOP...

The leader of this 1978 expedition authored the book and her characterizations of her fellow expeditioners are interesting and engaging. Her description of life on an expedition is filled with a myriad of detail that will enthrall all armchair climbers, as well as climbing enthusiasts. These details make for gripping reading at times, and her descriptive narrative is always evocative of another time and place. In reading it, one realizes just how far women have come in terms of acceptance in the mountain climbing arena.

Their time spent on the mountain is illustrated by photographs which beautifully resonate the lyricism of the author's chronicle. The obstacles they overcome, their day to day travails, the bonding and alliances that formed amongst the different members of the expedition, all add to the three dimensional quality of the book. The photographs memorialize those moments in time that best evoke the nuances of what it was like on the expedition and, at the same time, give the reader a sense of the beauty and majesty of the mountain.

On October 15, 1978, two of the women met the challenge of Annapurna, one of the world's highest mountains at 26,540 feet, and stood on its summit, achieving a historic first for women climbers. The success of the expedition, however, was clouded by the tragic loss of two of its members on a second, ill-advised attempt to reach the summit. Nonetheless, the American Women's Himalayan Expedition quest to reach the summit of Annapurna is a testament to great courage and commitment. It is also a great read.