The White Spider

by heinrich harrer | Nonfiction | This book has not been rated.
ISBN: 000734757X Global Overview for this book
Registered by wingschwesterwing of Wien Bezirk 03 - Landstraße, Wien Austria on 8/18/2021
Buy from one of these Booksellers:
Amazon.com | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon DE | Amazon FR | Amazon IT | Bol.com
This book is in the wild! This Book is Currently in the Wild!
2 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by wingschwesterwing from Wien Bezirk 03 - Landstraße, Wien Austria on Wednesday, August 18, 2021
I bought this book 2nd hand in Grenå, Denmark when I ran out of books on holiday. They did not have many books in a language I can really read, but this one was there for 5 DKK.
It was a childhood classic of mine. My parents own a German version of it and when my older cousins from Munich came visiting and stayed with us in Vienna, we all slept in one room where we some time found that book, which from then on served as our horror story book. There was no more need for the older ones telling stories about ghosts or whatever, they simply read aloud how the rope was a bit too short and the knot too thick for the karabiner so you could watch your friend freeze to death.

I forgot about the Jungfrau railway - this makes everything even more absurd.
I also did not remember the whole story being so very male, back from the good old times when women waited timidly at home in the cave. Best part is when Harrer only tells one person he is going to try the Nordwand - his mother in law! Ha!!!

I had no idea how deeply rooted the book was in my brain. Of course ill prepared is never a great idea, not in the mountains nor anywhere, AND I'm not on very challenging expeditions anyway, BUT it is my early childhood experience of the 1957 Eiger Nordwand expedition that makes me so angry about insufficient preparation - that is some sort of a revelation. How books can influence your life!

I looked it up on wikipedia and the record for climbing through the Eiger Nordwand is now 2h22min50sec (they keep track of the seconds!!!). So THIS is crazy.

Ok now a new star in the sky of misogyny is rising - the chapter on the first Eiger Nordwand climb with female participants in 1962 is so extreme in its misogyny I almost thought it was satirical. This is not only some old white man's sexist "jokes", but the real stuff where what Harrer probably thought to be praise hits hardest. This is maybe the most impressive horror part of the book!
I just told my father I had bought a Eiger Nordwand book in Denmark... whose?... the Harrer book... OMG. (Actually he said "jessas", but well.) It took me a while because of childhood nostalgia, ha, but I now have reached the jessas-line myself....

Journal Entry 2 by wingschwesterwing at Wien Bezirk 03 - Landstraße, Wien Austria on Friday, October 1, 2021
reserved for Camperfan

Journal Entry 3 by wingschwesterwing at Wien Bezirk 03 - Landstraße, Wien Austria on Friday, October 8, 2021

Released 2 yrs ago (10/8/2021 UTC) at Wien Bezirk 03 - Landstraße, Wien Austria

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

sent on to the Netherlands

Journal Entry 4 by wingCamperfanwing at Ruurlo, Gelderland Netherlands on Wednesday, October 20, 2021
And today in my mailbox, the white spider. Thank you schwester for sending it to me, and for the big surprise. You have a PM about that :-)

Journal Entry 5 by wingCamperfanwing at Ruurlo, Gelderland Netherlands on Wednesday, November 3, 2021
This book is part of the Dutch januari challenge:
jaren met een twist.
(It's the year of the copyright of the book that counts.)
1959

Journal Entry 6 by wingCamperfanwing at Ruurlo, Gelderland Netherlands on Sunday, January 9, 2022
I could not finish this book. Horror story indeed. My blood runs cold with all the snow and ice and agony.
I will find a good place for it.

Journal Entry 7 by wingCamperfanwing at OBCZ Kulturhus in Ruurlo, Gelderland Netherlands on Thursday, January 20, 2022

Released 2 yrs ago (1/20/2022 UTC) at OBCZ Kulturhus in Ruurlo, Gelderland Netherlands

WILD RELEASE NOTES:


Read and Release at BookCrossing.com...


in the bookbasket.

Are you sure you want to delete this item? It cannot be undone.