Mountain climbing, real top-of-the-world high-altitude mountain climbing- not the more familiar hill and trail hiking-seems to have a way of generating polarities of passion. Rallied around the plus pole are those who see it as one of the noblest of human expressions, as setting high goals that require physical and mental toughness, then organizing all of one's resources and senses to accomplish that goal against whatever environmental odds there may be. At the negative pole are those who see climbing as the unnecessary risk of life and limb for, at best, vague personal satisfaction.

     Whichever pole you find yourself drawn to, A Life on the Edge: Memoirs of Everest and Beyond will prove to be of tremendous interest. Jim Whittaker's vivid description of the "whys" of mountain climbing go far beyond "because it's here." He takes us past mental "exposure," as climbers call it-that sudden pit-of-the-stomach sensation that 
comes from looking down from hundreds of feet up on a precarious ledge-to explore the realities of "objective danger," another climber's term that is essentially a nice way of saying that unforeseen hazards, such as rock slides, avalanches, or lightning, can too often fatally override even the best planning and execution.

     Jim's pursuit of "the highest," both as the first American to climb Mount Everest and the country's foremost mountain climber, makes for fascinating eading. As a friend of his for some thirty-five years, I believe he has written a landmark book, the most lucid account yet-one might almost call it a textbook-of the whys and hows of mountain climbing. Whether you are a " couch potato" or a mountaineer thoroughly experienced in the highest of the world's high countries, you will enjoy going along with him on this true-life climb.

 
-John Glenn

Copyright (c) 2001 by Jim Whittaker.  All rights reserved. Reproduced with permission from Jim Whittaker.