No Way Down : Life and Death on K2
Author(s): Graham Bowley
“No Way Down is both a gripping read and a clear-eyed investigation of the hubris, politics, and bad luck that brought on one of the worst disasters in modern mountaineering history.” — Michael Kodas, author of High Crimes: The Fate of Everest in an Age of Greed
“Graham Bowley’s No Way Down does a great job of putting you on the mountain. It is a refreshingly unadorned account of the true brutality of climbing K2, where heroes emerge and egos are stripped down, and the only thing achieving immortality is the cold ruthless mountain.” — Norman Ollestad, author of Crazy for the Storm
In the tradition of Into Thin Air and Touching the Void, No Way Down by New York Times reporter Graham Bowley is the harrowing account of the worst mountain climbing disaster on K2, second to Everest in height... but second to no peak in terms of danger. From tragic deaths to unbelievable stories of heroism and survival, No Way Down is an amazing feat of storytelling and adventure writing, and, in the words of explorer and author Sir Ranulph Fiennes, “the closest you can come to being on the summit of K2 on that fateful day.”
Review(s):
“Bowley relies on a copious study of the events and interviews with survivors and families to artfully and assiduously piece together an account of a fractious day in brutal real time. Fatality by fatality.”
“Unputdownable.... A portrait of extreme courage, folly and loss, leavened by a small dose of survival, as complete a version of the calamitous story as will probably ever emerge. . . . [A] step-by-faltering-step recreation of the thin-air fight to survive, bristling with cinematic immediacy.”
“Harrowing.”
“An astonishingly dramatic and sad tale of disaster on K2. Bowley expertly puts together the complex story of what happened as eleven people died high on the summit slopes of K2 in August 2008.”
“Brisk and engrossing. . . . Mr. Bowley reveals a deep sympathy for his characters and their quest. . . . Entertaining.”
“[A] fascinating tour de force…. Bowley wove his tale together after hundreds of interviews with dozens of people, and the result is a triumph of storytelling.”
“A compelling narrative from interviews with most of the survivors. . . . The most complete report of the tragedy to date.”
“Harrowing. . . . Bowley is an intrepid journalist and gifted storyteller. . . . Thrilling and wrenching.
“Bowley takes readers right onto the mountain…. As avalanches shear away ropes, darkness falls and rescue attempts succeed and fail, the book becomes impossible to put down….. The vivid story will captivate readers. No Way Down doesn’t just tell a harrowing adventure story-it will also make you think.”
“Both a gripping read and a clear-eyed investigation, No Way Down provides a compelling education in the game of climbing on the world’s highest mountains to readers who have never tied into a rope, and is an essential addition to any mountaineer’s bookshelf.”
ISBN: 9780061834790