Commentary/review

Published in 1999 (first print edition), 2018 (audio).

An entirely wholesome piece of memoir writing. I like these Everest/mountaineering memoirs for many reasons, one of them being the fact that testosterone filled men who question the abilities of women are named, blamed and proved wrong. In this memoir, the critique of the macho attitude was made from the perspective of an archetypal male leader of the bygone era. If the first person perspective is to be trusted, the archetypal leader was honest, competent, patient, quietly confident and mentally present. I particularly enjoyed fragments about business, politics, friendship and the back seat view, from the shadows, somewhere where the actual decisions are made, far from the perils of overexposure. I love that the mountaineer turned businessman turned all-purpose leader, peace- and eco-activist ended up with his family on a sailing boat (at least in the memoir). A thoroughly inspiring book and another candidate for my Book of the year (2025).

Beautiful, mature voice of Traber Burns is entirely suitable for this production.

For some reason I find this cover very beautiful. The secret lies somewhere in the balance and the use of green color. The close up of the Author roughly balances the Mountain in the background which makes the graphic very pleasant to the eye. It also conveys the right message.

Cover Photo by Jamie Morrison on Unsplash