by Andrew J. Kauffman and William Lowell Putnam
The apparently infamous story of Fritz Wiessner's expedition to K2 in
which climber (and financier) Dudley Wolfe and three Sherpas died. It
contains new evidence on the story, notably Jack Durrance's diary.
Durrance has heretofore been the scapegoat. The book also contained
many appendices, like the official report, climbing charts, and so on.
The book's writing style is childish: misused words, jumpy, rambling at
times. Near the end it got repetitive, like a schoolchild attempting to
meet an essay's length requirement. What annoyed me most was its
noncommittal stance on its own argument. The book ends with a series of
questions that the text ostensibly provided answers for! However, on
the whole, it was an informative and surprisingly engaging book. I for
one was convinced that Fritz's oft-proven faulty memory is a poor
indicator of what happened, whereas Durrance's diary seems to be
straightforward and reliable.
three stars
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