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Title: Over the Edge : The True Story of Four American Climbers' Kidnap and Escape in the Mountainsof Central Asia by Greg Child ISBN: 0-375-50609-8 Publisher: Villard Pub. Date: 02 April, 2002 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.68 (22 reviews)
Rating: 2
Summary: NOT the next, "Into Thin Air"
Comment: "Over The Edge" is the story of a kidnapping of four American rock climbers in August 2000, in a remote valley of Kyrgyzstan. The terrified young climbers were held hostage for six days by Islamic militants of the Islamic Movement Uzbekistan (IMU).
Greg Childs is one of mountaineering literature's best authors. But he is neither an expert on terrorism or georegional politics of Central Asia. In "Over The Edge", his first attempt outside the realm of pure mountaineering literature, Childs falls flat.
The book fails when Childs tries too hard to defend himself and his version (according to the climbers) of the adventure story. Throughout the book, he subsequently bashes any inquiry or criticism about the controversial 'truth' of the kidnapping.
Childs actually had exclusive access to all the climbers, guaranteed by a healthy monetary advance. He could have used this unique privilege to evolve and focus on the harrowing adventure the climbers endured.
Instead, he often choses to focus on himself and his relationship to the story. Childs seems to beg the reader not to ask questions, shut up, and accept his version of the tale as the finite truth. For a good writer, this is an elementary mistake.
"Over the Edge" certainly is an 'over the edge' tale of the ego-centric "Ugly-American" at his/her finest. But it is certainly not the next "Into Thin Air".
Rating: 5
Summary: a 360 degree of the event, not just the rescue
Comment: The story of the climbers' kidnapping and escape is exciting as it comes, but I find most of the value in the book in Greg's in-depth explanations of the terrorists and their background, the politics surrounding the rescue and the heroism of the soldiers who, by pursuing the terrorists, gave the climbers the opportunity to escape. Furthermore, his analysis of the press after the story broke reveals the downside of being caught in the public eye.
If you are looking just for a thrilling story, the book may be dry, but if you want to learn about third world politics and gain a bit of insight to the terrorists and the climbers' experiences after rescue, this is a great book to read.
Rating: 5
Summary: Very good, incredibly well researched book
Comment: I have no doubt the story is precisely true as related.
The one thing I found myself frustrated with in this book was how these kids just didn't "get it" about the situation they were in. As someone who has spent a lot of time in Russia, I found their and the author's blithe acceptance of the murder of the Russian soldier and these muscley kids refusal to lift a goddam finger to help him after he had told them clearly their captors were about to kill him, well, rather repulsive. Their stated denial in the book that he would be fine was so offensive to me. What planet do these kids inhabit?
I have traveled extensively in places where I had 24 hour security, including recently into the region on the border with Chechnya, which is massively beautiful country. God help me, but if I were taken captive with such a crew of "Valley Guy/Valley Girl" morons, I swear I would have told them if they didn't fight I'd kill them myself for being such a bunch of twits. I could see in my mind's eye them jumping on me if I tried to attack one of the captors, all with the best of intentions, and my killing them or being killed. Gad. Is this what America is raising?
But, hey. I guess that's what they were. The book could be titled: "Clueless left coast twits with big muscles and no sense, on a mission to turn the world into their personal Disneyland, find out reality bites".
Kind of looks like that's what these kids still are. And it is rather clear that the rest of the "developed world" is pretty much the same. Maybe there isn't any other way for them to go. One could title this coming decade perhaps, the "Wakeup Call Decade" in which the developed world finds out a great deal.
But, great book, incredibly honest and very well written.
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Title: Climb: Stories of Survival from Rock, Snow and Ice by Clint Willis, David Roberts ISBN: 1560252502 Publisher: Thunder's Mouth Press Pub. Date: December, 1999 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Climbing Free: My Life in the Vertical World by Lynn Hill, Greg Child, John Long ISBN: 0393324338 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: May, 2003 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: High: Stories of Survival from Everest and K2 (Extreme Adventure) by Clint Willis ISBN: 1560252006 Publisher: Thunder's Mouth Press Pub. Date: January, 1999 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Touching the Void: The True Story of One Man's Miraculous Survival by Joe Simpson ISBN: 0060730552 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: January, 2004 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: Kyrgyz Republic: Kyrgyzstan, The Heartland of Central Asia, Second Edition (Odyssey Illustrated Guide) by Rowan Stewart, Susie Weldon, Ceri Fairclough, Paul Harris ISBN: 9622177360 Publisher: Odyssey Publications Pub. Date: 01 January, 2004 List Price(USD): $23.95 |
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