Book Review: Forever on the Mountain

One sign of a really good book is that you cannot get it out of your head for days or even weeks after you finish it. Well, I cannot stop thinking about this book. It is the true story of a group of 12 young men that climbed Mt. McKinley in 1967. A huge storm hits while 7 of them were near the summit, and all 7 died. Beyond just retelling the story, the book is a comprehensive look at events before and after the climb. I found the book to be simply riveting, and James Tabor is clearly a brilliant writer. One thing thing that struck me while reading the book is the importance that people placed on the expedition leader in 1967. While I've climbed a dozen 14ers and another dozen 13ers in my life, I've never climbed anything close to McKinley. That said, I think that climbers today take a more personal view of their safety and rely less on the group leader. The huge importance (and blame) placed on the group leader in 1967 (Joe Wilcox) may be related to the fact that many of those young men served in the army (WWII, Korea, or Vietnam) before climbing the mountain. In summary, great book. Grade: B+