DEBORAH: A Wilderness Narrative

by David Roberts ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 14, 1970

This is the second book in which Mr. Roberts has recorded an exacting and charged climb in just that fashion, even though the actual accomplishment and failure of this expedition is less than that of The Mountain of My Fear (1968). Against the rules as well as odds, Roberts, with Don Jensen, a friend from Harvard, attempted a two-man expedition up Alaska's Mount Deborah, hazardous to begin with, still more hazardous in view of Jensen's personal instability. This has not been more than suggested (questions of objectivity, loyalty?) although during the 42-day period there will be constant outbreaks of mutual irritability and Jensen will seem driven by an obsession far stronger than the lure of because-it-was-there. A long way from the col, they realize the summit is unattainable: their tent is nearly submerged in the drifting snow; Don falls twice - in crevasses, and the return is slowed by injuries, by the mud and the mosquitoes. Certainly there are elements here which remain as ""fathomless in the darkness"" as Deborah -- but the account comes to life, directly, ominously and intensively, on every page.

Pub Date: Sept. 14, 1970

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Vanguard

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1970

Categories: NONFICTION