[.ca] Over the Edge: The True Story of Four American Climbers' ... (ISBN 0375506098)

From Amazon.com:
A year before America woke to the madness of Islamic terrorism, four young American rock climbers were pulled directly into its line of fire on a rock climbing expedition 80 miles from Afghanistan. Oblivious to the volatile mix of ethnic strife, drug smuggling, and militant Islam brewing there, the four had been seeking extreme adventure in the "Yosemite Valley" of Central Asia. Greg Child gives a riveting chronicle of their capture by militants of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (linked to al Qaeda), who dragged them through six harrowing days of gun battles before the four made their dramatic escape. As a veteran climber of the area and a seasoned writer, Child was uniquely qualified to write "the story that refused to stop unfolding," scrupulously tracking the moments that led to the ultimate decision--whether to kill to live--and the firestorm of controversy and skepticism that surrounded the four on their return to a still-ignorant America. To learn the truth, Child even traveled to Kyrgyzstan with two of the climbers to face one of their captors. Over the Edge is a charged and unforgettable look into the many faces of international terrorism and human nature itself. --Lesley Reed

a 360 degree of the event, not just the rescue:
The story of the climbers' kidnapping and escape is exciting as it comes, but I find most of the value in the book in Greg's in-depth explanations of the terrorists and their background, the politics surrounding the rescue and the heroism of the soldiers who, by pursuing the terrorists, gave the climbers the opportunity to escape. Furthermore, his analysis of the press after the story broke reveals the downside of being caught in the public eye. If you are looking just for a thrilling story, the book may be dry, but if you want to learn about third world politics and gain a bit of insight to the terrorists and the climbers' experiences after rescue, this is a great book to read.

Very good, incredibly well researched book:
I have no doubt the story is precisely true as related. The one thing I found myself frustrated with in this book was how these kids just didn't "get it" about the situation they were in. As someone who has spent a lot of time in Russia, I found their and the author's blithe acceptance of the murder of the Russian soldier and these muscley kids refusal to lift a goddam finger to help him after he had told them clearly their captors were about to kill him, well, rather repulsive. Their stated denial in the book that he would be fine was so offensive to me. What planet do these kids inhabit? I have traveled extensively in places where I had 24 hour security, including recently into the region on the border with Chechnya, which is massively beautiful country. God help me, but if I were taken captive with such a crew of "Valley Guy/Valley Girl" morons, I swear I would have told them if they didn't fight I'd kill them myself for being such a bunch of twits. I could see in my mind's eye them jumping on me if I tried to attack one of the captors, all with the best of intentions, and my killing them or being killed. Gad. Is this what America is raising? But, hey. I guess that's what they were. The book could be titled: "Clueless left coast twits with big muscles and no sense, on a mission to turn the world into their personal Disneyland, find out reality bites". Kind of looks like that's what these kids still are. And it is rather clear that the rest of the "developed world" is pretty much the same. Maybe there isn't any other way for them to go. One could title this coming decade perhaps, the "Wakeup Call Decade" in which the developed world finds out a great deal. But, great book, incredibly honest and very well written.

Into This Air, with guns...:
Very satisfying and intense read.

Into Thin Air, with guns...:
Very satisfying and intense read.

Adventure, and Context:
A thoughtful,gripping adventure story, that resonates in this new age of terrorism. More than just a saga, it's an informative story of how the "media" addressed the experience underwent by the four youngsters, and a lucid picture of the complex political environment into which they innocently (and naively)put themselves.