Freedom Climbers
WINNER Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature
- Paperback
- ISBN: 978-1-906148-44-7256 pages
- Author
- Bernadette McDonald
- Publication date
- 20 Feb 2012
WINNER - 2011 Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature
GRAND PRIZE WINNER - Banff Mountain Book Festival 2011
One of the most important mountaineering books to be written for many years. – Boardman Tasker Prize
Painstakingly researched and well crafted, this remarkable book acknowledges the significance of Polish mountaineers during the golden age of Himalayan exploration. Fascinating. – Andy Cave
Freedom Climbers tells the story of the extraordinary Polish adventurers who emerged from under the blanket of oppression following the Second World War to become the world’s leading Himalayan climbers. Although they lived in a war-ravaged landscape, with seemingly no hope of creating a meaningful life, these curious, motivated and skilled mountaineers built their own free-market economy under the very noses of their Communist bosses and climbed their way to liberation.
At a time when Polish citizens were locked behind the Iron Curtain, these intrepid explorers found a way to travel the world in search of extreme adventure – to Alaska, South America and Europe, but mostly to the highest and most inspiring mountains of the world. To this end, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan and Nepal became their second homes as they evolved into the toughest Himalayan climbers the world has ever known.
In her most engaging book to date, renowned and award-winning author Bernadette McDonald weaves a passionate and literary tale of adventure, politics, suffering, death and – ultimately – inspiration.
Read an interview with author Bernadette McDonald on the National Geographic Website.
Click HERE to read an extract from the book on our blog.
Also available as an ebook:
Bernadette McDonald is the author of ten mountaineering books, including the multi-award-winning Freedom Climbers (2011). Among its international awards, Freedom Climbers won the Grand Prize at the Banff Mountain Book Festival, the Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature and the American Alpine Club’s H. Adams Carter Literary Award. Her other mountaineering titles include Tomaž Humar (2008), Brotherhood of the Rope: The Biography of Charles Houston (2007), Keeper of the Mountains: The Elizabeth Hawley Story (2012) and Alpine Warriors (2015). McDonald’s books have been translated into eight languages, and her international awards include Italy’s ITAS Prize (2010) and India’s Kekoo Naoroji Award for Mountain Literature (2008, 2009 and 2011). She has also received the Alberta Order of Excellence (2010), the Summit of Excellence Award (2007) and the King Albert Award for international leadership in mountain culture and environment (2006). She was the founding vice-president of Mountain Culture at the Banff Centre and served as director of the Banff mountain festivals from 1988 to 2006.
- Title: Freedom Climbers
- Author: Bernadette Macdonald
- Imprint: Vertebrate Publishing
- ISBN: 978-1-906148-44-7
- Rights: Worldwide
- Publication date: 20 February 2012
- Edition: First
- Size: 234mm x 156mm
- Extent: 256 pages
- Cover: Paperback
- Weight: 440g
- Retail price: £12.99
Also available as an ebook:
- Imprint: Vertebrate Digital
- ISBN: 978-1-906148-45-4
- Publication date: 20 February 2012
- Price: £12.99
One of the most important mountaineering books to be written for many years. – Boardman Tasker Prize 2011
Committed climbers everywhere have much to learn from this bold, tragic, ultimately magnificent story. – Banff Mountain Book Festival
Freedom Climbers is a deeply moving, engrossing and sensitive portrait of this elite bunch of Polish Himalayan alpinists ... a story both bold and tragic, and McDonald tells it quite magnificently. – Adrian Hendroff, Irish Mountain Log
Read it for yourself and be inspired, be very inspired. – Simon Yates, Climber Magazine
This is certainly McDonald's best book ... She deserves great credit – and I have to admit to envy here – for bringing this subject to a wider public ... By focusing on the stars, and going light on Polish history, she has produced a story that hurtles along and is full of human interest. If you have no knowledge of what the Poles achieved, and in what circumstances, then you're in for a treat. – Ed Douglas, UKclimbing.com
"Triumph and tragedy" ... that hoary old mountaineering cliche, never more appropriate. Bernadette McDonald succeeds in bringing together all the elements of what is an epic tale and presenting them in a manner which is fascinating, illuminating and coherent. A fine achievement. – John Appleby, Footless Crow
Freedom Climbers gives some much-needed attention to several of the under-recognized superstars of high-altitude climbing. I highly recommend this book. Happy reading. – Everest Book Report
An unflinching examination of the psychology of risk, the extent to which one’s personality is shaped by one’s time and place, the connection between nature and spirituality, and the danger of egotism. McDonald asks big questions and does not succumb to easy answers. She shows the lengths to which these climbers went to imbue their lives with meaning, and then asks: was it worth it? – Angie Abdou, quillandquire.com
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