2003. 356 pp. Incredibly, 40 years after the climb, one of Woodrow Wilson Sayre's companions on his illicit attempt on Everest described in his book FOUR AGAINST EVEREST has come out with his own book which starts out with a lengthy description of the climb, and a long fall he and Sayre took while descending Everest in 1962.
Geophysicist Hart has learned a great deal about how the world works, and through a series of life-changing (and often life-threatening) events, he believes he's learned to change the world with his thoughts. Starting with a disastrous attempt to climb Mt. Everest, Hart's history unfolds as a series of near-death experiences and unfortunate events around the world. He has a strong science background, but the stories here quickly lead into the paranormal, in a manner reminiscent of The Celestine Prophecy, complete with meaningful coincidences.
He describes hitchhiking in Morocco and being picked up by a military officer in a Mercedes. The driver menaces Hart with talk of incarceration, right-wing philosophy and bad driving. In an attempt to escape, Hart crashes an oncoming Fiat into the Mercedes with his mind. Although Hart admits being high on hash cookies at the time, he is certain he caused the crash. Once he acknowledges his mind's ability to alter reality with telekinesis and precognition, Hart seeks an explanation by talking to yogis and trying to match mysticism with quantum physics. Much of the book involves dreamy dialogue, with Hart trying to find scientific explanations for his paranormal experiences: 'Is it possible that these universes expand from the singularities in the quantum foam?' Unfortunately, the answers are as clouded as Hart's hash-hazed memories (e.g., he never fully defines or explores the term 'phaselock code'). The author is very clear about where he has been, but readers are never sure where he is going.Paperback, remainder mark on bottom edge.
