Annapurna, first conquest of an 8000-meter peak : (26,493 feet) / Maurice Herzog ; translated from the French by Nea Morin and Janet Adam Smith ; cartographic and photographic documentation by Marcel Ichac ; with forewords by Conrad Anker and Eric Shipton.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Top 100 Sports Books of All Time, Sports Illustrated "Those who have never seen the Himalayas, those who never care to risk an assault, will know when they finish this book that they have been a companion of greatness."--New York Times Book Review In 1950, when no mountain taller than 8,000 meters had ever been climbed, Maurice Herzog led an expedition of French climbers to the summit of an 8,075-meter (26,493-foot) Himalayan peak called Annapurna. But unlike other climbs, the routes up Annapurna had never been charted. Herzog and his team had to locate the mountain using crude maps, pick out a single untried route, and go for the summit. Annapurna is the unforgettable account of this heroic climb and of its harrowing aftermath, including a nightmare descent of frostbite, snow blindness, and near death. Herzog's masterful narrative is one of the great mountain-adventure stories of all time. This new edition--due for publication shortly before the sixtieth anniversary of the Annapurna ascent on June 3, 2010--will feature a new foreword by Conrad Anker.