In the Ghost Country : A Lifetime Spent on the Edge

by Peter Hillary, John Elder

Release Date: 14 January, 2004

Edition: Hardcover

Price:

More Info

Daring and unconventional approach makes it fresh

I was in Australia recently for business (art dealer) and read two broadsheet newspaper reviews about this book, which I had read before heading Down Under. One said it was a ``must read'' for anyone interested in the adventure game, but ``deserves a much wider audience'' because of its searing psychological insights. It also noted ``the triumph of the book'' lies in the way the two voices complement one another. The other review said Elder (who carries the main narrative) was trying too hard to be original. The book is an original: a duet, where Elder paints the emotiional, historical and physical landscapes and Hillary speaks directly in the voice of someone telling wild tales, giving the feeling that he's right there in your ear. Elder's voice is in plain type, Hillary's in bold. The structure gives the book its pace and deepends its empotional resonance. Perhaps if the publishers had included a note to that effect for people who might struggle to get it -- but personally I don't think it's hard to figure out. If you enjoy literary intelligence, youi'll love the book -- if you like your stories straight up and down maybe you won't.

A very moody and compelling read

On this strange and affecting adventure story that goes to the bottom of the world, Peter Hillary uses the iron will that got him to the top of the world and other tough places to hunker down from the confronting fact that his two team mates have little time for him. They just want to the get to the South Pole, and go about it with a very business like attitude while Hillary wants companionship. He tries to get a social club going in the tent at night, and when they show no interest he increasingly retreats into memory and takes one of the biggest journeys of his life, a rich and harrowing journey into the mind. For a very driven man it's interesting and inspiring that he's more interested in how he makes the journey than bagging the trophy. He's been very generous with this book in the way he's put himself out there.