Reviewer Andrea Coventry: Andrea is a Montessori child - turned educator. An avid reader and writer, she is published on several websites. Click Here to find a listing of Andrea's sites where you can find many of her writing contributions.
Author: Bo Parfet with Richard Buskin
Die Trying: One Man's Quest to Conquer the Seven Summits is an inspiring memoir by a man, who at the age of 26, began a four-year journey to summit all of the highest climbs on the seven continents
Author: Bo Parfet with Richard Buskin
ISBN:
978-08144-1084-4
Publisher: Amacom Books
Click Here To Purchase Die Trying: One Man's Quest to Conquer the Seven Summits
Die Trying:
One Man's Quest to Conquer the Seven Summits is an inspiring
memoir by a man, who at the age of 26, began a four-year journey to
summit all of the highest climbs on the seven continents. When
starting his journey, Parfet was an overweight, under-trained 26
year-old working 100 hours a week as an investment banker at J.P.
Morgan. His first summit, of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa, made him
realize that he was capable of doing anything that he set his mind
to, and whetted his appetite to go for more.
He had always
dreamed of going to Mt. Everest, ever since reading about Sir Edmund
Hilliary and Tenzing Norgay being the first documented people to
summit the world's tallest mountain. Then, hearing about the
challenge to summit the tallest on every continent, Parfet began
taking the necessary steps to prepare. He started eating better,
working to lose the excess weight he had put on as a junior banker at
J.P. Morgan. He began to actively train during the off times when he
wasn't climbing.
Each mountain brought its own set of
challenges. Lessons learned on one mountain didn't necessarily
translate to a different mountain. He learned the importance of
friendship, trust, and simplistic intelligence, as well as the
necessity of staying cool in the face of danger. And as if it isn't
already inspiring enough that he conquered all Seven Summits, Parfet
shares about his scholarship funds that were set up to educate people
in each country he visited.
The mountains that Parfet
climbed, in order of ascent, are as follows: Mount Kilimanjaro
(Africa), Cerro Aconcagua (South America), Denali/Mount McKinley
(North America), Vinson Massif (Antarctica), Mount Elbrus (Europe),
Castensz Pyramid and Mount Kosciuszko (Australia -- two different
lists of the Seven Summits exist), and finally Mount Everest
(Asia).
Parfet's recollections of each of his climbs are
filled with vivid detail that help you feel like you are right there
with him. An energy to his storytelling keep the pages turning,
because you want to know what happens next.
The
accomplishments Parfet shares in Die Trying are humbling,
especially when you realize how young he was at the time. You will
laugh, cry, and bit your nails as he fights with a tent mate, loses a
team member, and slides down the ice.
This book definitely
ranks up there with the likes of Jon Krakauer, author of Into
Thin Air. If Bo Parfet has more stories to share, he should tell
them! Die Trying has definitely become my favorite book of
2009.
Click Here To Purchase Die Trying: One Man's Quest to Conquer the Seven Summits