Tabor’s largely speculative narrative lacks the dramatic force of such other recent high-altitude stories as Jon Krakauer’s...
A former contributing editor to Outside magazine tries to ferret out the truth behind a 1967 expedition during which seven climbers died on Mt. McKinley.
They died alone, without radio communication, and left behind no journals. So the author, a climbing enthusiast, must resort to educated supposition to reconstruct their final days, which occurred during a week-long July “hurricane” atop North America’s highest peak. The fatal McKinley climb resulted from an uneasy merger of two groups. Because National Park service regulations required a minimum of four per party, a three-man Colorado team led by Howard Snyder was forced to combine with a nine-man crew put together by 22-year-old Joe Wilcox, the expedition’s titular leader. Relations between the groups quickly deteriorated and only got worse as fatigue, bad weather and poor communication took their toll. The three Coloradoans reached the summit on July 15, then headed down the mountain; five from Wilcox’s team summited on July 18. By that time, a massive storm had moved in, trapping seven of the climbers in two separate camps above 17,000 feet. The desperate efforts of park ranger Wayne Merry were thwarted by the ignorance and inaction of his superiors, writes Tabor in a scathing assessment of the National Park Service’s dismal response to the crisis. In the aftermath, crusty mountaineering legend Brad Washburn, Park Service officials and Snyder combined to blame the tragedy on “tactical errors” by Wilcox, who was one of only two men from his original group to survive. The author’s scrutiny of the post-mortems makes for more compelling reading than his inconclusive attempt to reconcile the contradictory accounts of events published by the warring Wilcox and Snyder.
Tabor’s largely speculative narrative lacks the dramatic force of such other recent high-altitude stories as Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air (1997) or Ed Viesturs’ No Shortcuts to the Top (2006), and the dearth of answers may leave readers unsatisfied.Pub Date: July 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-393-06174-1
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Norton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2007
An inspiring story of a unique town.
In her debut, a New York Times sportswriter explores why a small town in Vermont has become the “perfect incubator for developing the ideal Olympic athlete.”
Norwich has the distinction of being a town in which “one out of every 322 residents is an Olympian.” Crouse examines the story behind this remarkable record of athletic excellence, beginning with a profile of sisters Sunny and Betsy Snite. In the 1950s, their relentlessly competitive father pushed both girls to become ski champions. His “parent-driven medal-or-bust model” drove a permanent wedge between the sisters, made them unhappy, and kept both isolated from members of the Norwich community. The author then examines how more contemporary Norwich families have helped nurture well-adjusted champions. Nonjudgmental parental support allowed Mike Holland and Jeff Hastings to pursue their quirky, sometimes-dangerous passion of ski jumping in the 1970s and ’80s. An emphasis on becoming a well-rounded athlete able to play soccer and run track helped mogul skier Hannah Kearney keep a hypercompetitive drive in check while laying the foundation for the medals she won in 2010 and 2014. Growing up without expectations that he would ever be an athlete, Andrew Wheating was able to find a joy in running that led him to become a member of the U.S. Olympic track and field team in 2008 and 2012. Loving parents and a supportive community helped Winter X Games snowboard champion and Olympic team prospect Kevin Pearce move beyond the traumatic brain injury that ended his career. Crouse’s common-sense findings—that Norwich parents “praise effort, not results” and give their children “ownership of their lives”—all within a tightly knit community that values healthy living—are refreshing. Her book is a reminder that in an age that stresses winning at all costs, the true champions of the Olympic world are those who transition into lives as happy and productive adults.
An inspiring story of a unique town.Pub Date: Jan. 23, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5011-1989-7
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 22, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2017
A close-up look at the championship season of a girls' high school basketball team that only the team's members and their families will find compelling. Adolescence is inherently hyperbolic, sportswriting is sometimes not far behind, and Pulitzer Prizewinning journalist Blais (The Heart Is an Instrument, 1992) nearly outdistances both as she applies the celebrity biography touch to a subject that is diminished by being so inflated. This is unfortunate, because the Lady Hurricanes of Amherst, Mass., seem a likeable lot who worked hard to capture the 199293 state championship. Co-captains Jamila Wideman (who received several honors, including selection by USA Today as a ``first team all-American'') and Jen Pariseau (who also earned the attention of college sports recruiters) are particularly noteworthy, and each girl makes her own contribution. When Blais discusses actual games, she captures some of the excitement these players must have felt, but she is more interested in the girls as people—even when she cannot make them interesting. Many potentially illuminating anecdotes are related in only a gossipy manner: Jamila starting life in a hospital preemie ward, Sophie King nearly losing a leg to gangrene, and Jen offering her version of ``life's little instructions.'' We hear about not only Coach Ron Moyer but also about his mother. Settling for adoration without insight, Blais asks no questions about the impact of these experiences on the girls' development or their futures; she doesn't ask whether the goal of girls' teams should be to imitate boys' teams, with their unquestioning emphasis on winning, whatever the cost; in short, she ignores the issues that could have made this more than an inflated version of the New York Times Magazine article on which it is based. There might be an insightful book to be written on the subject of girls' basketball, but this isn't it. (First printing of 35,000; author tour)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-87113-572-8
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Atlantic Monthly
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1994
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