books

Some of our favorite books that tell about amazing adventures

Bringing Progress to Paradise: What I Got from Giving to a Mountain Village in Nepal by Jeff Rasley

Our Nepal experiences have been through a locally-owned company in Kathmandu staffed by people from Basa, near Everest.  Jeff has spent time in Basa and taken on this village as his personal project.  A school and electricity generation were the first two projects Jeff undertook and this is about his personal growth experience.

Himalaya by Michael Palin

As a comedian-turned-adventurer, Michael Palin is truly entertaining. He tells the background story of making his BBC documentary in a way that makes the documentary seem to lack the most important stories (an unfortunate side effect), but that should be why we read books. This is a truly engaging book that makes me want to pick up his other books and travel the world through his perspectives.

Annapurna by Maurice Herzog

This is an outstanding account of the first climb of Annapurna by a French team in 1950. Everest hadn’t been climbed yet and Nepal was still a dark and mysterious Kingdom. This attempt to take European-style fast, light climbing to the Himalayas is a great look into an era that doesn’t exist anymore. Today’s commercialized climbs have no resemblance to what Herzog did.

Seven Years in Tibet by Heinrich Harrer

I wish I could have met Heinrich Harrer in person after reading this book. From his escape from a British internment camp in India to the way they talked and cajoled their way to Lhasa, this was a fantastic, exotic tale.