The White Spider
by Heinrich Harrer
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Book Summary Information
Author: Heinrich HarrerEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1998-09-28
ISBN: 0874779405
Number of pages: 384
Publisher: Tarcher
Book Reviews of The White Spider
Book Review: A History of the climb on the Eiger North Face
Summary: 3 Stars
I have admired Heinrich Harrer ever since I came across his book 'Seven Years in Tibet' many years ago. In 2010, I even visited his home village of Huettenberg in Austria and visited the Harrer Museum there. In the Museum, I found old newspaper clippings from 1938 showing that he was also one of the party of four which made the first successful ascent of the Eiger North face. Having seen the immense vertical wall of the Eiger North Face when I had hiked the Bernese Alps some years before, I wanted to read Harrer's account of his climb.
The book is actually an account of the drama, excitement and tragedies of the ascent of Eiger North Face in history - particularly from 1935 up to 1962. The North Face, being a vertical rock wall rising 6000 ft from the ground at Alpiglen, it had been a challenge to the mountaineers. Harrer captures the spirit of the times in the 1930s when every summer, the imagination of the European public and journalists was riveted on the North Face. The wall is completely exposed as it stood and so spectators and journalists could watch every attempt on the Face through telescopes in the train station or even in the comfort of their hotels. Only bad weather obstructed their visual entertainment. And the Eiger North Face was famous for extremely unpredictable and bad weather. Still, because of this ability to watch every climb from beginning to end, every layman and journalist who has never even stepped on a rock face, became an expert critic and commentator about the 'follies' and 'mistakes' of the climbers. Harrer writes about all this without grudges and with reticent Austrian humour. He writes about his own team's successful assault with clinical details and graphic descriptions of the various portions of the ascent on ice and rock and over waterfalls. The writng style is that of 60 years ago and also I read the translation in English from the original in German. Today's readers may find the style pedestrian and even a bit tedious, especially if one is used to the electrifying pace of Jon Krakauer in his book 'Into Thin Air', describing the 1996 Everest disaster. But anyone who is fascinated by Eiger would find it quite gripping and informative. For me, the maps showing the route on the North face in great detail along with Harrer's narrative made it all come alive.
Harrer also describes the tragedies of 1957 and 1962 when the behavior of a couple of climbers - Italian and British - came under intense scrutiny for the deaths of their companions on the mountain. In fact, over the 25 years of climbing reported in the book, one could see acts of great courage, honesty, humility, selflessness as well as some doubtful acts of false pride and even dishonesty and untruthfulness. All in all, it is a microcosm of human life as it is lived.
I found the book warm in its humanity and captivating in the narration of the events on the mountain. I would recommend it to anyone interested in the adventures on the high mountains, particularly the stunning Eiger North Face.
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