
No Shortcuts to the Top
Climbing the World's 14 Highest Peaks
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Narrated by:
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Stephen Hoye
For 18 years, Ed Viesturs pursued climbing's holy grail: to stand atop the world's 14 8,000-meter peaks, without the aid of bottled oxygen. But No Shortcuts to the Top is as much about the man who would become the first American to achieve that goal as it is about his stunning quest. As Viesturs recounts the stories of his most harrowing climbs, he reveals a man torn between the flat, safe world he and his loved ones share and the majestic and deadly places where only he can go.
A preternaturally cautious climber who once turned back 300 feet from the top of Everest but who would not shrink from a peak (Annapurna) known to claim the life of one climber for every two who reached its summit, Viesturs lives by an unyielding motto: "Reaching the summit is optional. Getting down is mandatory." It is with this philosophy that he vividly describes fatal errors in judgment made by his fellow climbers, as well as a few of his own close calls and gallant rescues. And, for the first time, he details his own pivotal and heroic role in the 1996 Everest disaster made famous in Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air.
No Shortcuts to the Top is more than the first full account of one of the staggering accomplishments of our time; it is a portrait of a brave and devoted family man and the beliefs that shaped this most perilous and magnificent pursuit.
©2006 Ed Viesturs and David Roberts (P)2006 Books on TapeListeners also enjoyed...




















Critic reviews
New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age, 2007
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Buy this book, learn from Ed Viesturs, enjoy.
NO SHORTCUTS
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Ed touches on these topics along with many others in the book. The individuals of the text are introduced with such detail that you will laugh (and sometimes cry) as their lives (and some deaths) are related. As I listened to the final chapter, I was truly sad the "ride" was over. Do note, however, that the book at times seems to turn and twist back on itself (chronologically). That said, the organization makes complete sense as the book closes ... you realize that the book was written exactly as it should have been.
Fantastic ....
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Ed Viesturs tells the story of his climbing of all 14 8000m peaks. In doing so, he displays a keen understanding of how to teach the elements of high altitude climbing, combined with a sense of humor and a knack for bring out the human element so often interwoven in his experiences. Hardly a "look at how great I am" sort of autobiography, Ed regularly discusses other great climbers, often with a sense of awe in finding himself in their company, or standing where they stood. In his discussions of his many high altitude expeditions, he bring a strongly human focus to bear, leaving readers not only with a sense of the beauty of climbing, but the painful realities as well.
Perhaps one criticism which could be leveled is one of organization. Because he regularly detours to tell the stories of others he knew and climbed with, there are points in the story where the time lines become slightly blurry. This is, of course, a danger with any book tracking a narrative from more than one character's perspective.
Excellent narrative, excellent narrator.
An excellent talking book.
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Amazing achievement
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Amazing story
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If you could sum up No Shortcuts to the Top in three words, what would they be?
I am only part way into this book, and I do understand other reviewers comments about the ego-centered nature of it, however so far I am really enjoying the story. Nonetheless, I am completely shocked, appalled and distracted by the narrator's constant mispronunciation of the names of the peaks as well as the persons and basic mountaineering terminology …there is no excuse for this!!!! Please do your research Stephen Hoye!!! Is there no editorial quality control for this in audiobooks? Surprised I have not seen any comments about this, as surely there are many other listeners who must be shuddering whenever another word gets slaughtered…again...Narrator needs to learn proper pronunciation!!
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A book everyone should take in!
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Inspiration and awe
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Good Story
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Great Principles to Live By!
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