Limits of the Known

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David Roberts has spent his career documenting voyages to the most extreme landscapes on earth In Limits of the Known, he reflects on humanity s and his own relationship to exploration and extreme risk Part memoir and part history, this book tries to make sense of why so many have committed their lives to the desperate pursuit of adventure What compelled Eric Shipton to return, five times, to the ridges of Mt Everest, plotting the mountain s most treacherous territory years before Hillary and Tenzing s famous ascent What drove Bill Stone to dive 3,000 feet underground into North America s deepest cave And what is the future of adventure in a world we have mapped and trodden from end to end In the wake of his diagnosis with throat cancer, Roberts seeks answers with new urgency and penetrating self analysis Booklist. Read Limits of the Known – kino-fada.fr There are people around that revel in climbing the tallest mountains, seeking out the wildest places and pushing their bodies to extremes David Roberts was one of those people who was always seeking the next place, another mountain all because he could He never considered himself a risk taker though,of a risk manager, as he knew the absolute limit of what he could achieve and never pushed himself over that line His outlook on life all changed though with his diagnosis of throat cancer There are people around that revel in climbing the tallest mountains, seeking out the wildest places and pushing their bodies to extremes David Roberts was one of those people who was always seeking the next place, another mountain all because he could He never considered himself a risk taker though,of a risk manager, as he knew the absolute limit of what he could achieve and never pushed himself over that line His outlook on life all changed though with his diagnosis of throat cancer Gone were the days of scaling the peaks and he had to take time out to be treated and to rest and recuperate.The sudden expanse of spare time that he had meant that he could consider whys and wherefores as to why he undertook adventures and also made him think about other people who have sought the perils of extreme travels These days we are not cut of...The if you liked algorithm gave me a winner this time around.Roberts writing delves into what makes an adventurer tick , why do people risk life and limb to climb mountains, scale rock faces, cave dive, etc in an effort to do something or go somewhere that no one has done before I am of the armchair school of such activities and this book supplied all the goods The stories of the various exploits of such adventurers made for great reading Roberts prose is vivid and I had no trouble pictu The if you liked algorithm gave me a winner this time around.Roberts writing delves into what makes an adventurer tick , why do people risk life and limb to climb mountains, scale rock faces, cave dive, etc in an effort to do something or go somewhere that no one has done before I am of the armchair school of such activities and this book supplied all the goods The stories of the various exploits of such adventurers made for great reading Roberts prose is vivid and I had no trouble picturing the locations and the people He deftly weaves his own story in with the various subjects, as he has done quite a lot of this and that during his writing career.While I loved the whole book, two lines of inquiry caught my attention One concerned the Anasazi of the US southwest These long vanished people built elaborate dwellings in hard to reach cliff c...Not at all what I expected a lot of explanation of what were his expeditions and why they were good or bad I was hoping fordepth the same goes for his writing about the expeditions by ships in the Arctic such as the Jeannette While his accomplishments are certainly impressive, I wasn t ove...With, The Mountain of My Fear, David Roberts introduced me to superior mountaineering writing, way back when This was problematic because with some exception, almost everything that came after in this genre, was inferior Except his writing has continued to get better, book by book As an original hard core mountaineer, one of the biggest thinkers around, period, and his superior ability to research, organize and craft information and ideas, fans have been entranced by Roberts work for many y With, The Mountain of My Fear, David Roberts introduced me to superior mountaineering writing, way back when This was problematic because with some exception, almost everything that came after in this genre, was inferior Except his writing has continued to get better, book by book As an original hard core mountaineer, one of the biggest thinkers around, period, and his superior ability to research, organize and craft information and ideas, fans have been entranced by Roberts work for many years In likely his last book, he not only revisits that ever niggling question of why in his usual, thoroughly perused, hard line opinionated manner, he also offers this book up as a tribute to his well lived life and loved ones In an effort to engage further with this exceptional writer, I have reread several of Roberts books, and I m certain this will be one that goes another round or two David Roberts, you will remain one of the greats I am a better writer because of your ...3.5 stars David Roberts has written many books on his own mountaineering exploits and on other adventurers, such as himself, who have blazed new ground This collection covers some of those adventurers while also interspersing with his own stories and his current battle with stage four throat cancer I have a hard time coming down too harshly on this book because it is obviously a labor of love from someone who is facing his own mortality but I do have to admit at times I found myself losing in 3.5 stars David Roberts has written many books on his own mountaineering exploits and on other adventurers, such as himself, who have blazed new ground This collection covers some of those adventurers while also interspersing with his own stories and his current battle with stage four throat cancer I have a hard time coming down too harshly on this book because it is obviously a labor of love from someone who is facing his own mortality but I do have to admit at times I found myself losing interest Maybe it is because I wantedabout his own adventures, of which there are many, b...Roberts writing is truly enjoyable and the premise of the book is extremely inviting Unfortunately, I don t believe the book does justice to his accomplishments and the other historical feats of mankind depicted in the book The back and forth between his story and other historical expeditions made it hard to keep up with either and in result, to be fully invested in the book as a whole during my reading As intriguing as the premise of this book sounds the eternal question of why humans feel Roberts writing is truly enjoyable and the premise of the book is extremely inviting Unfortunately, I don t believe the book does justice to his accomplishments and the other historical feats of mankind depicted in the book The back and forth between his story and other historical expeditions made it hard to keep up with either and in result, to be fully invested in the book as a whole during my reading As intriguing as the premise of this book sou...Roberts has written several books I ve enjoyed Instead of telling someone else s story, this one ispersonal He recounts several of his own climbs of remote mountains in Alaska, trips down wild rivers, and explorations into deep caves But he also entwines his story with those of others He reflects on the differences of modern adventurers from their historic forerunners who lacked helicopter evacuations and cell phones if things went wrong, and wonders at the loss of places yet untouched Roberts has written several books I ve enjoyed Instead of telling someone else s story, this one ispersonal He recounts several of his own climbs of remote mountains in Alaska, trips down wild rivers, and explorations into deep caves But he also entwines his story with those of others He reflects on the differences of modern adventurers from their historic forerunners who lacked helicopter evacuations and cell phones...3 1 2 stars A glimpse into some of the extremes that people go to in the search for adventure Arctic and Antarctic, mountains, rivers, caves Roberts has a number of first ascents of his own, of Alaskan peaks He describes some of his own adventures but mostly focuses on a handful of other adventurers I ve already read about many of these adventures Those books provide muchdetail and excitement than Roberts can convey in his overview This book fails to really explain why people go the 3 1 2 stars A glimpse into some of the extremes that people go to in the search for adventure Arctic and Antarctic, mountains, rivers, caves Roberts has a number of first ascents of his own, of Alaskan peaks He describes some of his own adventures but mostly focuses on a handful of other adventurers I ve already read about many of these adventures Those books provide mu...

Limits of the Known
  • 07 May 2017
  • Paperback
  • 336 pages
  • 0393356590
  • David Roberts
  • Limits of the Known