K2: The Price of Conquest | 
| Authors: Lino Lacedelli, Giovanni Cenacchi
Creator: Mark Worthington
Publisher: Mountaineers Books
Category: Book
List Price: $16.95
Buy New: $5.99
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Avg. Customer Rating:  2 reviews
Sales Rank: 507296
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 128
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.5
ISBN: 1594850305
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.522
EAN: 9781594850301
ASIN: 1594850305
Publication Date: July 31, 2006
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Condition: NEW
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Book Description
A thundering account of what really happened during the legendary K2 expedition in 1954, an epic achievement that has always been clouded in mystery •The truth regarding one of mountaineering's great controversies is revealed after more than fifty years •Photos from the historical first ascent of K2 •Uncovers personalities previously confined to the shadows, forgotten and erased incidents, and the intense emotions surrounding this event On July 31, 1954, two Italians, Achille Compagnoni and Lino Lacedelli, became the first humans to stand atop K2, the world's second highest mountain. The event was celebrated all over Italy with great pride, but when the team led by Ardito Desio returned home a terrible accusation was leveled at them. One of the members of the expedition, 20-year-old Walter Bonatti, insisted that the two climbers who reached the summit had put his life in danger by abandoning him before the final stretch so that they could reach the top without him. According to the official version of the facts, written by Desio and confirmed by all the other members of the expedition, nothing untoward had happened during the climb; Bonatti's accusations were unfounded and the result of a misunderstanding. Today, more than fifty years after the event, Lino Lacedelli tells his own terrible version of the truth: in the night between July 30 and 31, he and Compagnoni deliberately failed to make their rendezvous with Bonatti, forcing him to abandon the final ascent so that they could use the two oxygen tanks that he carried with him. This is a story of courage and ambition, of glory and guilt, of more than fifty years of hiding the truth that became Lino Lacedelli's Price of Conquest. LINO LACEDELLI, born in 1925, is one of Italy's most famous climbers, in large part because of his participation in the first ascent of K2 in 1954. GIOVANNI CENACCHI, born in 1964, is the author of several books, documentaries and magazine articles on climbing.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Sets the record straight, maybe November 20, 2006
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
This is a great read for anyone interested in the history of mountaineering. It's mostly an interview with one of the first two men to reach the summit of K2, fifty years after the event. I saw Bonati give a talk in Telluride years ago and his rant about how he had been left for dead was memorable -- after all these decades he was still worked up about the events on that expedition. In this book, Lacedelli confirms nearly all of Walter's claims. His memory may be a bit tainted, perhaps by not having spoken up much earlier, so it may not be the final word. But better late than never. And a good reminder for those who think recent events on Everest are without precedent.
 An excellent focus. November 6, 2006
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
One of the major mysteries in mountaineering is what happened to the 1954 expedition, when a agreed-upon base camp was moved, forcing author Lino Lacedelli to reach the summit without rendezvousing with their teammates. Accusations of conspiracy and plots ran amok - here, more than fifty years later, Lacdedelli breaks silence to provide his own version of events, with documentary mountaineer Giovanni Cenacchi providing an excellent focus.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
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