Mountains: Mapping the Earth's Extremes

If you love mountains... this is a VERY SPECIAL book. The title could have been better, but the book is sensational. Don't be put off by the fact that some of the photos were generated by computer means. They are spectacular, and cannot be distinguished from the real thing. Besides, "real" photos are as a rule digitally retouched nowadays anyway. Tho photos are not fake, but were generated based on actual satellite and other data. The book contains chapters dedicated to 13 of some of the world's highest and most famous mountains. Even though the book is European, I was happy to see that mountains from the Americas, such as Denali (Mount McKinley in Alaska) and Aconcagua (highest mountain in the Andes in Argentina) are featured. However, Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, is not. But Mt. Blanc, the Matterhorn, K2, Everest, and others, are included.Each chapter has a number of pictures of the mountain, including views not possible to obtain by regular means (because to obtain those views you would have to place the camera in totally inaccessible locations) a bit of geological information, a chart or two of interesting information - for example, one showing that far more people have died climbing the Matterhorn than Mt Everest in a 150 year span. Each chapter concludes with a climber's first person account of their expedition up that mountain, along with actual photos taken during the climb.The book is printed in thick, high quality paper, the printing is superb, and so the book is worth every penny!

Bought it for my 16 year old grandson who is big into mountain biking. He loves the book!

The exquisitely crisp images of the mountains are so easy to “read” as a topographical surface. Ordinary 2-D photos suffer from a flatness that obscures the actual shape of ridges and valleys, cirques and peaks.I spend my days painting mountains from slides I took years ago and I constantly have to look at topographical maps of the areas to ensure that I am interpreting the slide correctly in the layout of gullies and ridges.These virtual images are almost like viewing the mountain through a stereoscopic viewer based on two photos taken at an angle to each other. However, the mental readjustment to the stereoscope is not needed. Wow!To further inform the reader, there are topographical maps overlaid on a grayscale shaded rendition of the land forms. These are data rich with info about virtual camera angles (virtual positions) along with compass directions, height, focal length and distance to summit. What wonderful aids in interpreting the mountain images.A brief history of the mountain, the geology, ethnography and interesting observations, set the stage for reading an account of a dramatic climb.A special thanks for including women climbers.This book is printed on very heavy paper and well bound, so will need to be opened and exercised to loosen the binding. See these instructions. [...]

I saw this book mentioned in a customer review on another book. The reviewer raved about this one, and I share all the high fives. Stunning photography and wonderful choices of mountainous landscapes.

Superb and beautiful.Make sure this is what you want. It's actually a coffee-table book, and there is no index. Finding Everest made me look through the whole book. However, overall awesome.

Great book

Fabulous book and great service, thank you.

I do have a large collection of mountain books in my library and the leaning has typically been on historical books on climbing during the early years of exploration. After a long time I have come across a book which is a new release with completely new material. Unseen Extremes contains very high level of photography documenting some of the iconic mountains we are familiar with and combined with the images is the climbing history of the peak by leading mountaineers. Those who follow the sport passionately should not miss out on this book.