London, 1982, 1st edition. 180 pp, b/w photos, mapped end papers. Hardcover with dust jacket. Fine.
This was the first biography of Messner in English and ''is technically and emotionally absorbing'' as told by The Times' Everest correspondent.
A bit early in Messner's career, as he had only climbed 8 of the 14 8000m peaks. However, as he had already soloed Everest and climbed it twice without oxygen, there was already little doubt that the climber of the century was right here.
This was a British book so there are few copies in America, making it a hard book to find, especially in the first edition.