Sheer Will

Book excerpt: This is an updated and revised edition of the autobiography of extraordinary Australian mountaineer Michael Groom which we published in 1997. Even among the many achievement-against-all-setbacks books on the market, Michael Groom's story stands out. In 1987, he lost a third of both his feet to frostbite while climbing one of the world's highest mountains. He was told to forget about an active, outdoor life but by 1990 he had not only taught himself to walk again, he was back climbing the Himalayas. To increase the challenge, Michael climbs without supplementary oxygen, an extraordinary thing to do in the thin oxygen-deprived air at the top of the world. In 1999 Michael climbed Makalu in the Himalayas. Makalu is the fifth highest mountain in the world and it's generally considered to be a harder climb than Everest, which is why so few people have done it. Michael is now one of the very few people in the world to have climbed all six of the six highest mountains. The book features two stunning 8-page colour photo sections, and has an introduction by respected mountaineer Lincoln Hall. Its appeal will reach far beyond those already interested in mountaineering--it is ideal for anyone with a taste for gripping biography, struggle-against-the-odds stories, inspirational books, or travel in Nepal.