History of Sports, Mountain Climbing, Mountaineering -- History, Mountaineering 

"The year 2000 is the fiftieth anniversary of the ascent of Annapurna, the first of the 8000-meter peaks to be climbed. In the decade following that first ascent in 1950, all but one of the world's fourteen highest mountains were climbed; the period from 1950 to 1960 can be considered the Golden Age for high altitude climbing. Only Shisha Pangma remained unclimbed until 1964 when a Chinese party led by Hsu Ching reached the summit." "This book brings together the stories behind the discovery, exploration and first successful ascents of each of the fourteen highest peaks, as well as accounts of the most important attempts and ascents that followed. Many of these stories illustrate how modern technology has enabled mountaineers to climb the previously unscaled peaks, while still demonstrating the importance of the human element."--BOOK JACKET.

Anyone enthralled by mountain climbing will enjoy this beautifully illustrated history of the climbs on the world's 14 highest mountains (8000m is 26,248 feet). Both historical and contemporary photographs record the adventures here described in detail by the authors (both are climbers and photographers, Sale is a glaciologist). Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) - from Amzon