My Journey Home from Everest Beck Weathers with Stephen G
Michaud. Little, Brown and Company, Great Britain, 2000. Rs 1,250.
Weathers, the Texan climber who survived the 1996 Everest disaster and who Jon Krakauer wrote about in Into Thin Air, tells his whole story. Left for dead, he staggered back to Camp Four with such severe frostbite, his companions thought he wouldn't make it. He began descending slowly, until Madan KC could carry out what was then the highest helicopter rescue ever attempted.

Fearless on Everest: The Quest for Sandy Irvine Julie Summers.
Weidenfeld and Nicholson, Great Britain, 2000. Rs 2,240.
A biography of Irvine, the lesser known of the Mallory and Irvine duo, who might have climbed Everest in 1924. Irvine's grand-niece uncovered new photographs and letters Irvine sent home from Everest, and his engineering drawings, to answer questions about why, despite his limited mountaineering experience, he was chosen for the expedition, and why Mallory selected him for the final assault on the summit.

25 Adventure Treks in the Mighty Himalaya Steve Razzetti, climbing consultant Victor Saunders.
New Holland Publishers, UK, 2000. Rs 1,100.
This guide, part of the Globetrotter Adventure Guide Trekking and Climbing in Nepal series, is aimed at trekkers and climbers at all levels of experience. It includes detailed original cartography, strip maps and topographical photographs of 12 climbing peaks. The 25 treks range from Saipal in the west to Kangchendzonga in the east, classic teahouse routes to newly charted expedition-style routes. Also included is information on trekking and climbing styles, mountain photography and local ecological concerns.

Annapurna: 50 years of Expeditions in the Death Zone Reinhold Messner, translated by Tim Carruthers. The Mountaineers Books, Seattle, USA, 2000. Rs 1,910.
The great climber Messner pays tribute to Maurice Herzog's pioneering summit of Annapurna 50 years ago, when for the first time the "Death Zone"-above 8,000 m-was crossed. He also highlights the most exciting and significant achievements on the Annapurna since 1950, including climbs led by Chris Bonigton, Erhard Loretan and himself.

Seven Summits: The Quest to Reach the Highest Point on Every Continent ed, Steve Bell. Bullfinch Press, Little, Brown and Company, United States, 2000. Rs 3,120.
Every mountaineer dreams of climbing all Seven Summits-Everest/ Asia, Aconcagua/ South America, McKinley/ North America, Kilimanjaro/ Africa, Elbrus/ Europe, Vonson/ Antarctica, Carstensz Pyramid/ Australasia, Kosciuszko/ Australia. Editor Bell doesn't say which of the last two should be the seventh summit, but includes both. The book has information on each summit, with diaries and essays of summiteers.