Rating: 
Summary: Adventures on Mountaintops with Money to Burn
Review: Frank Wells, the Walt Disney exec, and Dick Bass, a top entrepreneur set out to climb the continent's seven highest summits in a logistical challenge of peak bagging. The writing doesn't really capture the magic of the mountains and envelop you in the high altitude mystique. The book does have it's moments, like the challenging endurance journey of climbing Aconcagua, and the suspense of if they even climbed the right summit for Mt Vinson in Antarctica. Since it is a book about climbing mountains, it's a worthwhile read, but there are far better mountain climbing books out there..."Into Thin Air" by Krakauer...anything by Heinrich Harrer. Frank Wells died shortly after the book came out from a helicopter accident while heli-skiing. The movie "The Lion King" is a far better and moving tribute to a great man than this book. Skip this book and resist the urge to climb mountains above your head for the sake of peak bagging and go out and get "Into Thin Air" and be caught up in the altitude.
Rating: 
Summary: Poor Frank
Review: Great story, so-so writing. Worth a read though after you'd read "Into Thin Air" and "The Climb", etc. I won't spoil it for anybody, but poor Frank. Can you believe his wife gave him that ultimatum about returning to a certian VERY high peak? Anyway, the only thing about the climbs that the author fails to communicate is how difficult they were. It sounded like other than being a logistical nightmare the peaks themselves were otherwise easily attainable (except for the one in Austrailia which is actually very easy)
Rating:
Summary: Inspirational story of a never-give-up attitude!
Review: Having been recommended by my boss I was skeptical, but this book proved to be a great motivating tool. The two main characters had a specific goal in mind, made the necessary sacrifices to reach it, and never gave up. This was great reading. It makes we want to climb!
Rating:
Summary: DAWN OF ADVENTURE TOURISM
Review: I came across an interesting description reading while Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air: It mentioned a certain socialite mountaineer who threw a party before climbing Mt. Everest to which she showed up in her climbing gear. Krakauer also mentioned in passing that she was on a coveted Seven Summits quest to climb the tallest mountain on each continent. Later on I came across a memoir by one of the guides on the 1996 Mt. Everest disaster, titled My Seven Summits. Having seen this quest mentioned on several occasions, my curiosity was piqued when I saw this book about Wells' and Bass' exploits. This book is straightforward and simply written. Positive in tone, it portrays two classic type-A entrepreneurs, in a style with which Donald Trump was once lionized, before he had to let the bankers take over his holdings, before the S&L crises and the Enron debacle. The two men are portrayed with all of the bravado and the flair of Kipling-toting prep school boys that the two men once might have been, reliving their youth in the adventure. The book does not dwell on the technicalities or insights of the Inner Game of Mountain Conquest, and self-serving though it may be, it is basically honest and it illustrates several truths, perhaps unintentionally. The theme of danger, of climbers dying or coming close to it is prevalent throughout the book, with several fatal accidents taking place during the course of the book. There is no dwelling on why or if the deaths were preventable, but along with the book about sailing called the Proving Ground, this book underscores a point that most money buys the best expertise, best sailboat, and avoids the disaster that befalls other climbing parties, with less technical expertise. The book touches on, but does not address the negative impact a paying expedition member has on the rest of the expedition, which sees the patron as a free loader and is best seen in the hostile reception that Dick Bass received when he tried to hitch his way up the Mt. Everest with other climbing parties that had obtained the coveted permits. This book is also a good account of the genesis of modern adventure travel. The two could honestly claim to have started it, and in the early nineties adventure tourism became a marketable commodity. What one must understand is that in our society Expensive sports like mountaineering usually attract two sorts of people: Those, who seriously get into it, but have no money and people with bucks who want to do it. People, who have no money work whatever labor they can get paid for, climbing as much as they could, much like Krakauer and Marty Hoey, mentioned in this book. If they get lucky, they eventually become professional guides or journalists or something else on the periphery that would allow them to take part in climbing expeditions. The other half are people like Bass and Wells, who can afford the $60,000 climbing fees and other expenses related to mountain climbing. In the old days of exploration, these wealthy patrons were themselves amateur scientists who took active parts in the expeditions they sponsored and received accolades in various geographic societies for their scholarly endeavors. Nowadays, we get a glimpse of another type of explorer - one who has no interest in climbing other than as a thrill and recreation. These outsiders pay a lot of money to spend their vacation skydiving or ocean kayaking or climbing Mt. Everest and whose money, spent on expensive equipment, guides, lessons and other fees, basically support the pros and the scene of whatever extreme sport they engage in. In time, there emerged a whole genre of magazines dedicated to marketing various extreme sports to so-called adventure tourists. This book is a very good glimpse into the genesis of the adventure tourist industry. Amazingly, the seven summits were reached by Bass in 1984-1985 and the worst excesses of this trend started by Bass and Wells ended up in disaster in 1996, when 12 people lost their lives in a blizzard on Mt. Everest. Most of the victims were paying clients; some of them should have never been on the mountain. It took a little over a decade for some of the themes touched in the Seven Summits to reach the disastrous proportions on Everest. In a way, this book written in 1986, was prophetic of things to come.
Rating: 
Summary: Awesome adventure made possible through sheer determination
Review: I don't think these guys get enough credit! Yes, they were fifty something and not life-long mountaineers. But, their dedication to an admirable goal, and to themselves really, makes up for it. Their story is an epic adventure that anyone will appreciate. Highly Recommended!
Rating: 
Summary: "The Mountains Win Again" - John Popper
Review: I must admit, I approached this book with extreme prejudice. I had read some reviews and listened to the opinions of my friends who had read the book and made a mental note to pass on this one. Then, as a present, I was given the book. As I make a point to read any book given to me as a gift (I may rethink this policy), I threw all caution to the wind and began reading. Right away I was gritting my teeth. The two protagonists, Dick Bass and Frank Wells, I found to be insufferable and left me thanking my stars that I never was stuck with either of them in a tent. Both men were used to getting their way in the business world (although Frank Wells couldn't operate a microwave or buy his own clothes), pushing people about, and letting money do the talking. When the idea occurred to them to climb the highest peak on each of the continents, they naturally thought that their characters and a little physical conditioning would meet with success. Amazingly, they were successful - thanks to skilled climbers who risked their own lives to allow these two men to try to fulfill their Seven Summits dream. Rick Ridgeway, the hired pen for this book, treats his benefactors, Bass and Wells, as if they were modern day heroes: men who constantly fought against adversity and always persevered, as well as men who tackled the continents' highest peaks by spending an obscene amount of money making sure that they had a good chance at the summits. The tone of his prose is almost hagiographic when he describes the mental anguish the two men underwent as they balanced their multi-million dollar careers with the cost and time involved in climbing each of the peaks; and unintentionally comic as in the descriptions of the camaraderie between Bass, Wells, and their new found climbing buddies as Bass recites Robert Service's poem, "The Men Who Don't Fit In" (incongrous since Bass and Wells are the consummate insiders). I must admit, I did gain some begrudging respect for Dick Bass. After all, in his fifties, he did climb each of the seven summits. However, one must consider if the success of this enterprise didn't in a way contribute to the overcrowding of the 8,000 meter peaks and to disasters such as the one described in "Into Thir Air." And of course there are the mountains, and they save the book from being a total bust. I wish that Ridgeway would have given them center stage rather than Bass and Wells but, then again, mountains don't deal in money.
Rating:
Summary: "The Mountains Win Again" - John Popper
Review: I must admit, I approached this book with extreme prejudice. I had read some reviews and listened to the opinions of my friends who had read the book and made a mental note to pass on this one. Then, as a present, I was given the book. As I make a point to read any book given to me as a gift (I may rethink this policy), I threw all caution to the wind and began reading. Right away I was gritting my teeth. The two protagonists, Dick Bass and Frank Wells, I found to be insufferable and left me thanking my stars that I never was stuck with either of them in a tent. Both men were used to getting their way in the business world (although Frank Wells couldn't operate a microwave or buy his own clothes), pushing people about, and letting money do the talking. When the idea occurred to them to climb the highest peak on each of the continents, they naturally thought that their characters and a little physical conditioning would meet with success. Amazingly, they were successful - thanks to skilled climbers who risked their own lives to allow these two men to try to fulfill their Seven Summits dream. Rick Ridgeway, the hired pen for this book, treats his benefactors, Bass and Wells, as if they were modern day heroes: men who constantly fought against adversity and always persevered, as well as men who tackled the continents' highest peaks by spending an obscene amount of money making sure that they had a good chance at the summits. The tone of his prose is almost hagiographic when he describes the mental anguish the two men underwent as they balanced their multi-million dollar careers with the cost and time involved in climbing each of the peaks; and unintentionally comic as in the descriptions of the camaraderie between Bass, Wells, and their new found climbing buddies as Bass recites Robert Service's poem, "The Men Who Don't Fit In" (incongrous since Bass and Wells are the consummate insiders). I must admit, I did gain some begrudging respect for Dick Bass. After all, in his fifties, he did climb each of the seven summits. However, one must consider if the success of this enterprise didn't in a way contribute to the overcrowding of the 8,000 meter peaks and to disasters such as the one described in "Into Thir Air." And of course there are the mountains, and they save the book from being a total bust. I wish that Ridgeway would have given them center stage rather than Bass and Wells but, then again, mountains don't deal in money.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent inspiratonal book
Review: I read this book many years ago when it first came out. I am a reader of many climbing and outdoor texts but this one had me in my seat for the whole weekend more than any other has done. I didn't put it down. It was two successful businessmen who had achieved in their careers showing extreme determination to do the seven summits. It was sheer guts and determination that got them up all seven (Bass)and six (Wells). They did not buy there way to the top any more than a climber does when he hires a guide. It's an inspirational story of friendship, adventure, honesty, courage and some sadness. It proves that anyone can do anything if they really go for it.
Rating:
Summary: A real life adventure.
Review: I really enjoyed this book. It is a real life adventure that reads like a novel. From beginning to end it was an exciting and emotional read. Well written and a trememdous adventure with some very interesting side lights (from Chariots of fire to Mickey Mouse).
Rating:
Summary: A BOOK ABOUT MONEY NOT MOUNTAINEERING
Review: I thought when I reached the end of the book, the "heroes" would change their mind that money is everything and their natural arrogance. I was wrong. This is nothing to do with mountaineering, just what money can buy.
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