Author:Maurice Herzog,Joe Simpson
One of the finest mountaineering books. A phenomenal tale of strength and valour.
WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY JOE SIMPSON
In 1950, no mountain higher than 8,000 meters had ever been climbed. Maurice Herzog and other members of the French Alpine Club resolved to try. This is the enthralling story of the first conquest of Annapurna and the harrowing descent. With breathtaking courage and grit manifest on every page, Annapurna is one of the greatest adventure stories ever told.
As well as an introduction by Joe Simpson, this new edition includes 16 pages of photographs, which provide a remarkable visual record of this legendary expedition.
The distinguished French mountaineer Maurice Herzog was leader of the 1950 expedition to Annapurna. He was one of the two climbers to reach the summit.
'A classic of its kind... His vivid, high powered but never overdramatised account of the ascent still reads splendidly'
—— The Irish TimesAfter being swept off his feet by an avalanche and left dangling by a rope around his neck, Herzog 'began to pass water, violently and uncontrollably'. Your reaction may be only slightly less extreme as you move from one nail-biting moment to the next in this wonderful 1952 tale of triumph and frostbite.
—— OutsideQuite simply the greatest mountaineering book ever written.
—— Joe Simpson, from the IntroductionThe climb took place before the Himalayas were a tourist attraction and before Gore-Tex cold-weather gear was available in Marks & Spencer. They had no oxygen, little food and on the descent Herzog lost his gloves, got trapped in a storm, was buried in an avalanche and became frostbitten. His descriptions don't stint on the details of maggot-ridden flesh and amputations without anaesthesia
—— Richard EyreThose who have never seen the Himalayas...will know that they have been a companion of greatness
—— New York Times Book ReviewInformative, entertaining
—— When Saturday ComesEasily the most successful club manager ever to coach England, Fabio Capello won Italy's Serie A seven times with AC Milan, Juventus and Roma, and Spain's La Liga twice with Real Madrid - nine league titles in 15 seasons. So what led him to oversee a national team without a major trophy for more than 40 years? One of the strengths of this expertly researched biography is that such enigmas are pondered in a very Italian way, which revels in the availability of several answers rather than grasping for a single truth. In this case, Marcotti suggests managing Italy did not appeal, and points to Capello's long-standing affection for English football and his love of big cities. Other puzzles (was he really unaware that Juventus's boss was fixing matches?) receive similarly complex examination. Capello emerges as a pragmatic imitator rather than an innovator, a mix of sophisticate and martinet - padding around art galleries on his days off, but a believer in "putting a razor blade up against players' arses" if they let him down.
—— John Dugdale , GuardianExcellent... an irreverent, entertaining resume of cricket's long history
—— ChoiceBrilliantly retold
—— Mark Perryman , Socialist UnityIf you haven't bought Tom English's book about the 1990 match - The Grudge - then do yourself a favour and get it now. It's terrific
—— Alex Massie , SpectatorTom English's excellent book, The Grudge, revisits an occasion when sport and politics and ancient rivalry came together
—— Chris Foy , Daily MailTrue tales: great stuff
—— Frank Keating , The GuardianShudderingly good ... English has a rare talent for getting to the core of a person
—— Rugby WorldThatcherite politics and rugby come crashing into contact in this rich and textured account
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