New York, 1953, 3rd-5th printing. 316 pp, photos. The most popular and inspiring narrative in the literature of mountaineering, and the first to become a 'bestseller'. The story of the French team that explored Dhaulagiri, discovered the approach to Annapurna, and made the 1st ascent. This is an original hardcover from 1955; the book may have a non-author inscription or a bookplate on the endpaper. With a Dust Jacket. Very Good to Near Fine condition. The signature is Fine, and on the half title page.
Dated 3rd June 1950 and SIGNED by Maurice Herzog!
Every step taken by Herzog and his companions on this historic climb was charged with adventure – the days of travel through Nepalese jungle, zigzagging through a wilderness of gorges and torrent streams, the preliminary exploration of the approaches to 'The Goddess of Harvests' as the Nepalese call Annapurna, the back-breaking task of establishing a chain of camps (Base Camp at 14,750 feet, Camp 1 about 2,000 feet above, Camp 2 another 2,500 feet up, and on to Camp 5 at 24,300 feet).
Snow whipping into their faces; cold stiffening their clothes; the glaze of the tropical sun blinding them; their bodies and brains sluggish from fatigue and lack of oxygen – finally, a jubilant sense of victory and then the discovery that the worst was still ahead – a long series of mishaps during the descent which almost plunged the expedition into total disaster. Annapurna by Maurice Herzog is one of the great adventure classics of all time. It is also an enduring tribute to the spirit of man which is indestructible and against which nothing can prevail.
