Like Mark Twain, Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007) was a Midwestern everyman steeped in the rhythms of American speech whose anger at the way things are was matched only by his love for the best that we can be. His cunningly relaxed delivery was so original, so finely calibrated, and so profound an articula[...]

Then on the descent, tragedy struck, and how they made it back to safety is renowned in the annals of climbing. "K2 - The Savage Mountain" captures this sensational tale with an unmatched power that has earned this book its place as one of the classics of mountaineering literature.[...]