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1 of 2 found the following review helpful:
 Left for Dead whould be Left on the Shelf Feb 01, 2010
I have read several books and many articles relating to the 1996 Everest disaster and was looking forward to reading Beck Weather's account.
Instead, we get a whiny, pathetic tale of poor little rich man who needs to indulge his every obesession and whim at the expense of his family and friends. Although his tale of survival on Everest is amazing, in the context of this book the reader will be amazed that Mr. Weathers lasted so long as to get to Everest in the first place.
The writing is horrible and self-serving, with interludes from various people in his life, including his wife and friends, many of which seem to have nothing nice to say about him.
Conversely, one may find it tough to relate to Mr. Weathers or those who interject themselves into the narrative, in particular his wife Peach whose life seemingly revolves around the gossip of other North Dallas housewives and standing a top a high perch of revolting moral righteousness [at one point, she acts like a divorce is akin to cold blooded murder]. About two-thirds of the way through the book I was hoping that somehow Mr. Weathers and his wife would both find themselves trapped in a hopeless cold, this time without such a happy ending.
disappointed Oct 15, 2009
I was a little disappoined in this book. If you have read "Into Thin Air", you know how riveting it was, and it gave lots of details of the tragedy on Everett. Beck Weathers, in his autobiography, does not provide much more detail about what happened to him and how he survived. Worth reading, but i was looking for more.
 Beck Weathers survival on Everest Jun 10, 2009
This is a very interesting and heartfelt book about Beck Weathers and his family and the effect that his mountain climbing had on their life. When he was in serious trouble and thought to be dead on the mountain, he made several promises to himself about his family and he has followed through. A sad tragedy with his wife's brother cemented his agenda and he and his family are now in better shape. This book is very touching and I recommend that anyone who followed the tragic events on Mount Everest in 1996 add this to their library.
2 of 3 found the following review helpful:
High expectations, but very disappointing Jun 10, 2009
OK - I admit it. I read this book without reading all the reviews. My bad - and I have no one to blame but myself. I could have saved myself the trouble.
If you are looking for further insight into the 1996 disaster, don't bother. There is little of that here. Filled more with the self-obsessed ramblings over his personal battle with his wife over which of them is the worse spouse (yawn), and his own shortcomings, a great deal of this book is just poorly written and boring.
If this wasn't bad enough, I have a tendency to be none too pleased when personal opinions are presented as fact. Sandy Pittman is an excellent mountaineer? Yeah right, because all of the excellent mountaineers I know are willing to risk the life of their Sherpa by having them haul their cappuccino machine up a mountain. There is more of that in this book, but I won't go into the boring details.
While I admire his ability to survive, and I never begrudge anyone their opinion, this book is less a riveting story of survival and the aftermath, and more about self indulgence, self-obsession and dysfunction. It is said that most of the people who climb Everest have no business being there - oh, so true.
5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
 ANOTHER EVEREST MEMOIR FROM 1996 Aug 02, 2008
I expected a dramatic book about mountaineering (in the beginning), survival, and determination but got mainly a memoir about family problems, bouts with depression, childhood and earlier climbs. I really tried to like Beck and I do admire his ability to come back from death and recover; but does one need all this drama and trauma to make a man realize that his family and loved ones come first and are the main things in life, and you don't have to climb a giant mountain to understand? In my observations, I always find obsessions a bit weird and off-center in life. In fairness to Beck, the 1996 story has been professionally and strategically told by others, so maybe he and his ghost writer had to fluff up the pages to make a book. There was definitely enough for a great magazine story but a stretch to find over 300 pages to keep the reader interested. Enough said...Beck, hope you're back on the job and helping others like so many helped you. Mabuhay!
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