True Summit: What Really Happened on Maurice Herzog's First Legendary Ascent of Annapurna - Hardcover

Roberts, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1841193399 ISBN 13: 9781841193397

Publisher: Constable, 2001

A revelatory new book about the climb that has passed into legend - the first conquest ever made of the 8,000-metre Himalayan peak, Annapurna, in June 1950. Maurice Herzog, the leader, became a national hero and his account, Annapurna, remains to this day the best-selling mountaineering book ever. But the book left much unsaid. Far from the glorious solidarity portrayed by Herzog, the French team was riven with dissent.

In True Summit David Roberts offers the unidealised story of the Annapurna expedition. Drawing on interviews with friends and family of the climbers, as well as books recently published in France, he gives the three superb climbers who accompanied Herzog - Lachenal, Lionel Terray and Gaston Rébuffat - long overdue recognition for their achievement. He also interviewed Herzog, the one survivor among the climbers, and puts his account of the climb in proper perspective. A thrilling book that will set the record straight.

Book Description:

What really happened on Maurice Herzog's legendary
ascent of Annapurna

Synopsis:

The first conquest made of an 8000-metre peak occurred in June 1950, when a French team reached the summit of Annapurna. Maurice Herzog, the leader, became a national hero and his account of the expedition remains a best-selling mountaineering book. But the book left much unsaid, for far from the solidarity portrayed by Herzog, the team was riven with dissent. This volume seeks to offer the real story of the Annapurna expedition. Drawing on interviews with friends and family of the climbers, as well as books published in France, David Roberts gives the three climbers who accompanied Herzog - Lachenal, Lionel Terray and Gaston Rebuffat - long overdue recognition for their achievement. He has also interviewed Herzog, the one survivor among the climbers, and puts his account of their climb into perspective. Finally he explains why it has taken nearly 50 years for the full story of the expedition to emerge and how the revelations will change the way we think about this victory in the mountains and the climbers who achieved it.

• Publisher: Constable
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 1841193399
• ISBN 13: 9781841193397
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 240