The Next Everest: Surviving the Mountain's Deadliest Day and Finding the Resilience to Climb Again is a compelling memoir of Jim Davidson's experiences climbing Mount Everest. I thoroughly enjoyed Tim Campbell's audiobook narration and often had to remind myself that he was the voice actor, not Jim Davidson himself. Although, Davidson did include an audio clip at the end that was self-narrated about overcoming the COVID pandemic, the next Everest to conquer.

I found myself enthralled listening to Davidson's account of surviving a 7.8 magnitude earthquake on Everest to turn around two years later and attempt the climb again. Some parts of the story were slower, such as Davidson's memories of his past and his recovery after the first attempt at climbing Everest. However, the narrative picks up again once Davidson sets his sights on training and preparing for his return. It is quite the resilient story, and anyone interested in Mount Everest, climbing, or memoirs will be fascinated by Jim Davidson's knowledge. I, personally, learned a lot about Everest by listening to this book, especially the risks of high altitude sickness, frostbite suddenness, makeshift tent urinals, or cleaning the poop bucket if you're stuck on one of the world's deadliest mountains.

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for allowing me to read this!

I was instantly intrigued by the synopsis of this book. This book instantly drew me in and such a great read. I really enjoyed this book and the plot. This author did amazing. I loved the writing style.

I'm a sucker for pretty much any Everest book, and this one did not disappoint. Davidson recounts his harrowing experience on Everest during the deadly 2015 magnitude 7.8 earthquake and subsequent avalanches, his trek back through the quake-ravaged country to Kathmandu, and his preparation for and journey through his next summit attempt. Fascinating and riveting.

It is a fascinating read; and the story is told in a down to earth manner, as though you are sitting having coffee with the author and he is casually recounting the tales of his endeavors. It is told with enough detail , that you could almost imagine being up on that Mountain and is a compelling tale of perseverance and the will to succeed!

Really gripping account of survival after an earthquake and avalanche on Everest and a detailed account of the author's later successful attempt to summit.

The book does a really good job of communicating the details of an Everest summit, how much planning goes into it and the teamwork, physical fitness, and continuous risk assessment that goes into any attempt. This, more than anything else I've read, also rationally discussed the incredible risk and danger inherent in any attempt to climb Everest. the descriptions of what it was like at the high camps really made me respect the determination of climbers to overcome the physical punishment that climbing at such high altitude causes. Davidson also does a good job exploring both the spiritual and economic/colonial aspects of Himalayan climbing and it's impacts (both good and bad) on Nepal. And the depiction of the earthquake and avalanche that begins the book was harrowing and suspenseful.

The author goes into his past a good amount to illustrate why he developed the determination to attempt Everest, but it really felt like he could have spent more time talking about why he changed his mind and making the decision to go back to the mountain after narrowly missing death. That said, it's a minor quibble and this has made me want to read more mountaineering stories.

I enjoyed this book, but not as much as Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster. I found this book a bit too technical and scientific, which is not surprising seeing as the author is a geologist. And, while I don't mean to diminish the author's experience and acknowledging he did survive the deadliest day on the mountain, I felt it was more as an observer.

The author has determination and perseverance in spades, to be sure, but reading this book reminded me of two things: climbing Everest just "because it's there" (Edmund Hillary) seems a pretty weak argument for doing something that has the potential to have devastating consequences for not only the climbers, but for their families; and that climbing Everest is a rich person's activity, as few would be able to afford not only the costs associated with it, but in the time away from work and family obligations.

Coincidentally, I listened to audiobooks narrated by Tim Campbell almost back to back. He has quite a distinctive voice and I thought he did a good job. I also enjoyed the excerpts from the author's own recordings during the climb(s) that were included in the audiobook.

Unfortunately I did not realize that this book hadn’t been downloaded to my NetGalley shelf and now it is no longer available. If I buy it and listen to it, I will come back and edit this review. Apologies to the publisher—I am still getting the hang of how the NetGalley shelf works.

I have always had a fascination with Mount Everest and have loved learning about what it takes to tackle that monster. Jim Davison did an amazing job of writing over his experience in both and educational way and fun. I learned a lot about the mountain and what it takes to make the trip but Davison broke everything down in a way that I never got bored or felt that sections where getting bogged down with mumbo jumbo I didn’t think was that important.

As someone who will never be in a condition to climb Everest I enjoyed traveling both of Davison treacherous journeys. I felt like I was on the mountain with him.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Very interesting read, i espescially loved that the author used to be a painter! oh how i can relate to doing some crazy stuff off ladders! though i have no interest in ever climbing anything, still worth the read lol

In this story, we get to hear his experience while being on the mountain during this massive earthquake that struck, as well as what leads to him returning and his journey to the summit. We also get to read experiences from when he was in his 20s and working with his father and how the lessons he learned then, helped him in what he was dealing with while on Mount Everest. I thought it was interesting that when it goes to the time period of him in his 20s the author wrote it like his 20 years old self was telling it, not his present self in his 50s. I really like how he wrote it this way. These weren’t the only wonderfully crafted words in the book, but the whole thing is beautifully written. I have no experience or knowledge on the topics in this book, but he writes it in a way that includes enough for us to understand what is happening, but also not too much information on mountaineering that it feels like we're getting a lesson on climbing from an encyclopedia. So this book would be a good read for well-experienced climbers and most of us who have no experience or knowledge whatsoever.

The wonderful narration protruded the worry, stress, anxiety, and the other emotions that must have been whirling in his head as he made this assent to the summit. When challenged would come up on the way and doubt about reaching his goal would rise I found myself wondering if he would make it even though I already knew we had.

I found the audiobook to be one of the best I have listened to. Not only did the narrator do a fantastic job emitting the correct emotion but some very unique bonuses come with the audio. While on the mountain Jim had done some recordings and some of these recordings were edited very nicely into the audio when he went back and took us through events on the mountain and conversations he had. It made it so much more realistic Jim wrote that he said certain things to the camera but then right after the narrator read his words we would get to hear the real recording of him saying those things. I think it was also edited in so nicely that it almost sounded like a fake recording, even though it was real. I say this because the audio was nice and clear, we could even hear his labored breathing and intense worry as the avalanches descended.

There were also some cool sound effects including that of a helicopter. When he was rescued from the mountain on his first attempt when the earthquake happened we got to hear the helicopter in the background. This helped me to imagine the white snow-covered mountain with the crisp chilly air and the vast open space surrounding them as they heard the chopper coming closer.

Another bonus was that on top of a wonderful inspiration journey, I have also learned a lot about the long intense preparation and effort, that not only goes into climbing Everest but also the immense training that ensues beforehand. There were a lot of things that I had never known before and so it was very entertaining and informational to get the first-hand experience in what goes on to take this journey.

Now a lot of us could say, I’m never going to climb a tall mountain, let alone Everest. I said the same thing, even though I found myself multiple times while reading this having the urge to start training to climb mountains. I would have to stop myself and be like, no your not going to be climbing Everest. I make this point just to share how inspirational this book was. He worked so hard, having to go through so many medical, physical, emotional struggles to reach his goal. His experience helps to motivate all of us to give our all and to work hard to reach our own personal goals that we have. I like that he was able to use his experience that most of us have never even thought of pursuing and using it to draw a connection to all of us reading. We all have things we are struggling to attain to and we all have Everest size trials, like this COVID-19 virus. Just a truly mind-opening read and once done reading it you will feel like you could… well.. climb a mountain.

This is a well-written, action-packed, engaging book. The narrators were magnificent and emotive in the reading of this book. I found myself re-listening to many chapters because they were so well done and packed with suspenseful events.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this audiobook to listen to. The impressions expressed here are my own honest opinions written voluntarily.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for electronic copies to read and to listen to.

I love reading about Everest - if it is well written. This one, definitely well written. I appreciate how the information is technical without being overwhelming. It is clear and easy to understand and in many parts reads like a novel. There are some flashbacks to previous climbs that the author was part of and they really add to the story.

I enjoyed listening to this and reading along. The narrator was good and had a nice, smooth voice.

Engaging, suspenseful and personal! Listen to discover how one climber was able to survive one of Mt. Everest's most massive earthquakes and come back to face the mountain for himself! Adventure fans this is a one of kind listen, and perfect for new and expert readers.

The audio book is interesting when it is interspersed with clips of the author's climbs. But the narrator (who I believe is the author) is not a great narrator when it comes to doing the voices of other people involved in the scenarios. The voices he uses as his wife, family and other members of the climbing party are artificial and, for me, annoying. Interesting story, though, if you like climbing books.

The Next Everest
Surviving the Mountain's Deadliest Day and Finding the Resilience to Climb Again
by: Jim Davidson
Narrated by: Jim Davidson and Tim Campbell

With a resume of climbing, expedition leadership, geology, and environmental science, Jim Davidson was well qualified to climb Mt. Everest in April, 2015. Then, the Nepal earthquake of 2015 struck as he was sleeping at Camp One during his climbing attempt. He survived. I noted that before returning home, he thought of all the reasons to never attempt to climb Everest again. He did, however, persevere in his life's journey and went on to climb Everest in 2017. Davidson's writing is detailed and descriptive in his accounts of these two climbing events, as well as in accounts of his earlier years and family life. The audiobook includes riveting live recordings from his adventure during the earthquake.
I highly recommend this captivating book for those who are adventurers in sports, outdoors, or in living their best life. Lessons can be learned about adversity, challenges, and goal setting. Davidson's story truly comes to life through the narration by himself and Tim Davidson.
Thank you to Net Galley and Macmillan Audio from St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this audiobook.
#NetGalley #TheNextEverest

I listened to this as an audiobook. I don’t listen to audiobooks frequently because my mind tends to wander, but The Next Everest was engaging and easy to follow. In fact, I would recommend this format for this and perhaps other adventure stories. It was easy to feel like you had strapped on crampons and were climbing into the death zone clipped into the fixed ropes just behind him.

For a decades-long armchair mountain climber, that effect was only enhanced by his mentions of friend and fellow climber, Alan Arnette who blog and social media I have followed for many years, and Russell Brice, mountaineer and expedition leader whose Everest series I enjoyed on The Discovery Channel.

The author was a lifelong climber who had not yet added Everest to his summit list. He was turned back in his 2015 attempt when a 7.8 magnitude earthquake left him stranded high on the mountain. The earthquake and the ensuing aftershocks killed nearly 9,000 people in Nepal, eighteen of them on Everest. Davidson and his team were eventually rescued by helicopter. He didn’t think he’d get another summit attempt but was able to return in 2017.

I recommend the book for fans of adventure, mountaineering, or just good storytelling.

I received this Advanced Reader Copy of The Next Everest from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I recommend the book for fans of adventure, mountaineering, or just good storytelling.

Thank you to MacMillan and NetGalley for the early listen. What a harrowing story. The trials and tribulations the author went through to accomplish one of is his life's goals. Very detailed and the author accomplished and taking us on his climb up Mt Everest. Narrator did a great job.

What an amazing story! I would love to be able to summit Everest but I don't have the discipline to do it. Listening to this story and hearing Jim Davidson's triumph after having lived through the earthquake is the closest I will ever get and it was a wonderful way to do it. I loved the details on how he survived and then persevered to climb again. His story is well written and keeps you riveted until the very end.

This book started slow for me, but once I was into it, I didn't want to stop listening. I was fascinated by the logistics of climbing Mount Everest, but I was also very intrigued by Jim Davidson's reflections on his climbing career and especially how he handled trying to climb Mount Everest a second time after his first attempt was thwarted by a major earthquake that caused the deadliest day in the history of Everest.

If you like adventure memoirs you MUST add this one to your list. It is so well written. You are given so many details, but you don't feel bogged down by them. And Jim's writing is reflective and clear.

Content Warning: Natural Disaster, Death

Listening to this story as an audiobook was an absolutely fantastic, thrilling immersive experience! It opens with clips of live footage from Jim Davidson's GoPro camera while at Camp I during the 2015 earthquake that prompted the most deadly avalanche in Everest's history. You can hear the terror in the climbers voices, and wind and helicopter blades in the background. I've been a huge fan of Everest stories since reading Into Thin Air, which prompted me to read all of Jon Krakauer's books and everything written about the Everest accidents in 1996. But I have never listened to an audiobook about Everest, and this one surpassed all my expectations. As an experienced mountaineer myself, I really enjoyed listening to the words of a very experienced climber, for the story of his trips to Everest and other formidable mountains, and for his reflections and thoughts on life and how to move on from this disaster into future climbing and other life experiences.