Fallen Giants: A History of Himalayan Mountaineering from the Age of Empire to the Age of Extremes

This is an excellent history of mountain climbing in the Himalaya. Isserman and Weaver do a masterful job, not just of recounting the history, but placing the efforts in political and cultural context. There were long periods where access to these mountains was restricted or forbidden. There has also always been a competitive thread to the missions, as climbers tried for all kinds of "firsts." Of course the history is filled with both triumphs and tragedies, and the authors tell these stories in a most engaging way. I have only two small nits with the book. First, it ends in the mid 90s, even though the book was published this year. And second, while there are lots of photos and maps, I wish there were more of the latter, as I kept looking for the mountains, glaciers, towns, and other geographical entities. But these aside, this is an altogether wonderful book.

Excellent review of climbing history in both Himalaya and Karakoram ranges. Not a picture book, but there are loads of them out there. This tome covers first ascents and failures, AND is well written. A dream book for this history lover. A real treasure and endlessly fascinating.

Wonderful, well written, interesting book. Held me fascinated through all it's many pages. Read it just after finishing "Three Cups of Tea". A good match, now I can understand the politics of the area and the difficulties of the climbs that lead up to the present. Fascinating how they are all intertwined.

I'm about 150 pages into this book. It's been excellent so far but sadly lacking in one area - a good map of the Himalaya, from K2 in the west to Kangchenjunga in the east - and the many towns and villages mentioned in the book. It would have been ideal for the authors to include one on the endpapers. Then the reader could quickly flip there for reference. There are smaller maps throughout but many of them frustratingly do not include many of the place names mentioned. I have ordered the only map I could find - by Nelles Verlag - and will pick up the book again when it arrives. I actually bought it for a gift, so I'll be including the map with the book.

I read about this book from a review on the New York Times Review of Books and I ordered it from Amazon. I am basically a hiker though I bought it originally for my teen age nephews but it too technical for a teen ager.

Highly recommend it.