High Crimes: The Fate of Everest in an Age of Greed

(Paperback)

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Description

In 1996, eight climbers died atop Mount Everest in a single storm in a story that made headlines across the globe and formed the basis of Jon Krakauer's monumental bestseller Into Thin Air. But instead of being scared off by this event, even more people wish to beat the mountain and pay more than $65,000 to get a piece of the action. Where once climbers like Sir Edmund Hillary enjoyed noble and brave reputations, in the 21st century the criminal element has turned Everest into a place where beatings, thefts, drugs, prostitution, threats and abandonment reign.

Reviews

(Kodas) discovered more deceit, thievery, and double-crossing among his climbers than you find in a Martin Scorsese gangster film. High Crimes is both an adventure story and an expos of a sport riddled with danger and corruption.--Washington Post Book World
[High Crimes] is hair-raising and lays bare the excitement and fear that face great explorers at the top of the world. . . . Well written, and as deftly plotted as the finest mystery novel, Kodas brings to life a disturbing picture of society at high altitude.--Austin Chronicle
Kodas does an excellent job exposing the ways in which money and ego have corrupted the traditional cultures of both mountaineers and their Sherpa guides. . . . His narrative is as hard to turn away from as a slow-motion train wreck.--Publishers Weekly
Kodas's absorbing description of the narrow moral compass governing human interaction at the top of the world is bound to shock both armchair adventurers and seasoned mountaineers.--Chicago Tribune
Kodas's descriptions of the struggles confronting even the best-prepared climbers leave the reader breathless.--Dallas Morning News
The perfect follow-up to Krakauer's riveting account of a perfect storm.--Miami Herald

Author Bio

Michael Kodas is a member of the Pulitzer Prize-winning team of journalists at The Hartford Courant, where he has worked since 1987 as a reporter and photographer. His work has also appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, the Chicago Tribune, and Newsweek. He lives in Hartford, Connecticut, with his wife, Carolyn Moreau.