Annapurna

Annapurna is the unforgettable account of this heroic climb and of its harrowing aftermath, including a nightmare descent of frostbite, snow blindness, and near death.

"Outdoor Classic" Winner of the 2010 National Outdoor Book Awards

“The most influential mountaineering book of all time.”

— National Geographic Adventure

“Those who have never seen the Himalayas, those who never care to risk an assault, will know when they finish this book that they have been a companion of greatness.”
— New York Times Book Review

“Before Everest, there was Annapurna. Frenchman Herzog led the first summitting of an 8,000-meter peak, dictating his story because he had lost all his fingers to frostbite.”
— Sports Illustrated

“While the ascent is thrilling enough, the harrowing descent . . . truly boggles the mind.”
— The Week

Maurice Herzog is a French mountaineer and sports administrator, born on January 15, 1919 at Lyon, France. He was the first person to summit an 8,000-meter peak (Annapurna) in 1950. His accomplishment was surpassed only when Everest was summitted in 1953 by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay.