Review by spacekitty -- The Altitude Journals
Posted: 15 Sep 2018, 07:46
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Altitude Journals" by David J Mauro.]
4 out of 4 stars
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The Altitude Journals by David J Mauro is a book detailing the author's journeys as he climbs the 7 summits: The highest mountains on every continent. The description of the book also mentions that these climbs help the author with various personal struggles he is dealing with at the time. All this may make the book sound really boring, like reading a cross between a documentary and a diary. But this is far from the case.
There is personal details but not enough to make you feel like you are reading a diary. There is just enough interactions with the other climbers on each mountain to make the climb an adventure. You also learn about how to climb mountains and some of the equipment used. One of the surprising things i found in this book is that you sometimes have to go back down a mountain to continue climbing up the mountain. This was the case for the smallest mountain he climbed, making it in some ways tougher than the other mountains.
One of things I liked best about this book is how the author goes full circle. By that, i mean he starts out trying to explain why someone would climb a mountain in the first place. At the end of the book, he revisits this question. He never does directly answer that question and when you read the book, you discover that each mountain had a different reason for climbing it. Even the other climbers all had different reasons for climbing. My takeaway from this is that the reason to climb the mountain is usually highly personal and requires some explanation. This is probably why most people just say they climb because its there.
I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. It is a very good book and there is some lessons even the reader can get from the mountain climb. It is an enjoyable read and i look forward to reading it again.
There is only two things i would have like to have seen different and they are so minor it is not worth dropping the rating to three stars. One is i would like to have is a map of each mountain journey for those of us who don't know much about geography. The other thing would be a picture of the surrounding views from the top of the mountain so the reader can enjoy the view as well. The pictures included are nice however. Overall, an excellent book.
******
The Altitude Journals
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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4 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
The Altitude Journals by David J Mauro is a book detailing the author's journeys as he climbs the 7 summits: The highest mountains on every continent. The description of the book also mentions that these climbs help the author with various personal struggles he is dealing with at the time. All this may make the book sound really boring, like reading a cross between a documentary and a diary. But this is far from the case.
There is personal details but not enough to make you feel like you are reading a diary. There is just enough interactions with the other climbers on each mountain to make the climb an adventure. You also learn about how to climb mountains and some of the equipment used. One of the surprising things i found in this book is that you sometimes have to go back down a mountain to continue climbing up the mountain. This was the case for the smallest mountain he climbed, making it in some ways tougher than the other mountains.
One of things I liked best about this book is how the author goes full circle. By that, i mean he starts out trying to explain why someone would climb a mountain in the first place. At the end of the book, he revisits this question. He never does directly answer that question and when you read the book, you discover that each mountain had a different reason for climbing it. Even the other climbers all had different reasons for climbing. My takeaway from this is that the reason to climb the mountain is usually highly personal and requires some explanation. This is probably why most people just say they climb because its there.
I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. It is a very good book and there is some lessons even the reader can get from the mountain climb. It is an enjoyable read and i look forward to reading it again.
There is only two things i would have like to have seen different and they are so minor it is not worth dropping the rating to three stars. One is i would like to have is a map of each mountain journey for those of us who don't know much about geography. The other thing would be a picture of the surrounding views from the top of the mountain so the reader can enjoy the view as well. The pictures included are nice however. Overall, an excellent book.
******
The Altitude Journals
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like spacekitty's review? Post a comment saying so!