Seattle, 1999, 1st edition. 272 pp, many color & b/w photos.The complete autobiography of the first American to climb Mt Everest,CEO of REI, leader of the first American expedition to summit K2. DJ, Fine.
* Jim Whittaker is the first North American to summit Everest and the tenth person overall.
* This is a story of big mountains, big business, and big names-Everest, K2, REI, and the Kennedys
There have been many firsts in Jim Whittaker's life. He was the firstAmerican to summit Mount Everest. As the first manager and employee,and ultimately the CEO, of fledgling Recreational Equipment, Inc.(REI), he guided the company through several years of record-settinggrowth. He guided Bobby Kennedy up the newly named Mount Kennedy,helping him to become the first person to summit the Canadian peak. Heled the historic International Peace Climb, which put climbers from theU.S., Russia, and China on the summit of Everest in the name of worldpeace.
JimWhittaker's achievement on Everest and his many successes before andafter are the natural outcome of a life driven by a passion for outdoor adventure combined with strong leadership qualities and a commitment tomaking a difference. This honest, revealing autobiography features allthe major events in Whittaker's life: his formative years, spentclimbing with his twin brother Lou; the creation of REI and years ofwork growing the company; his intimate friendship with the Kennedy's and the new world into which he was launched after his success on Everest; his major expeditions on K2 and Everest; a business partnership that resulted in bankruptcy; a failed marriage; a new marriage and a new family; and his new challenges beyond the mountains.
In A Life on the Edge, readers will discover a true hero-someone who tells his story notto boast or preach, but to share his love of the environment andoutdoor adventure and to inspire others to seek challenges in their ownlives.
There havebeen many firsts in Jim Whittaker's life. He was the first NorthAmerican to summit Mount Everest (1963). As the first manager andemployee, and ultimately the CEO, of Recreational Equipment, Inc.(REI), he led the company through years of record-setting growth. In1965 he guided Bobby Kennedy up the newly-named Mount Kennedy, helpinghim to become the first person to summit the peak. In 1990, he led thehistoric International Peace Climb, which put climbers from the U.S.,Russia, and China on the summit of Everest in the name of world peace.
In1963, Swiss mountaineer Norman Dyhrenfurth invited the Whittakerbrothers to join him on an Everest expedition. Lou was unable to makethe trip, but Jim leapt at the chance. In his 1999 autobiography A Lifeon the Edge he describes how it felt to stand atop Everest: 'I did notfeel expansive or sublime. I felt only, as I said later, 'like a frailhuman being'. People, mostly non-climbers talk about conqueringmountains. In my mind, nothing could be farther from the truth. Themountain is so huge and powerful, and the climber so puny, exhausted,and powerless. The mountain is forever. Gombu and I, meanwhile, weredying every second we lingered.'
SummittingEverest changed Jim Whittaker's life. An invitation to the White Houseled to a friendship with the Kennedy family and in particular withBobby Kennedy, President Kennedy's younger brother andAttorney-General. Following the president's assassination, Whittakerguided Bobby Kennedy to the top of the Yukon mountain named in thepresident's memory.
Whittakerwent on to lead expeditions to K2, organizing the first American teamto summit the mountain in 1978. In 1990 he surmounted physical andbureaucratic hurdles to place a combined U.S-Chinese-Russian team atthe summit of Everest as part of the 1990 Mount Everest Earth DayInternational Peace Climb.
Today Jim Whittaker spends his time lecturing, writing and, when time allows, sailing with his wife Dianne Roberts, and their two teenage sons. Life, Whittaker says, is still full of adventure: 'I think a life well lived is also inseparable from being able and willing to learn continuously. A climber who doesn't learn, almost with every foothold and handhold, is unlikely to be around long enough to have a life well lived. Learning is what happens when you risk a journey beyond what you know and are comfortable with, to something you don't know and aren't comfortable with. A lot of people my age act like they've seen it all and have nothing much else to learn. But I'm still a learner."
