My Life at the Limit

by Reinhold Messner, Thomas Hüetlin

Reinhold Messner: My Life at the Limit, the newest book by the famed mountaineer, is a conversation between Messner and interviewer Thomas Hüetlin, an award-winning German journalist. It reveals a more thoughtful and conversational Messner than one finds in his previous books, with the "talk" between Messner and Hüetlin covering not only the highlights of Messner's climbing career, but also his treks across Tibet, the Gobi, and Antarctica; his five-year-stint as a member of the European Parliament; his encounter with and study of the yeti; his thoughts on traditional male/female roles; and much more. Readers learn about Messner's childhood, his thoughts about eating ice cream with girls (against), politics (mostly liberal), and his technique for killing chickens (sharp scissors).

Messner is known as one of history's greatest Himalayan mountaineers, a man who pushed back the frontiers of the possible for a whole generation of climbers. While the interest in My Life at the Limit is that it exposes much more of the man than his climbing career, that career is still utterly remarkable--and Mountaineers Books is proud to present this book, which is core to our mission, to audiences across North America.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Mountaineering, Adventure, Memoir, Travel, Outdoors

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Reinhold Messner (born September 17, 1944) is an Italian mountaineer and explorer from South Tyrol, often cited as the greatest mountain climber of all time. He is renowned for making the first solo ascents of Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen and for being the first climber to ascend all fourteen "eight-thousanders" (peaks over 8,000 metres above sea level). He is the author of at least 63 books (in German, 1970–2006), many of which have been translated into other languages.

Reviews

[Colette]

Messner is an egomaniac, but I love him anyway. If I could go up Everest - without oxygen mind you - maybe I could citicize him, but for now I will savor his stories. I think I need to schedule a trip to one of his museums and catch a Yeti in the surrounding fields.

[Vince Snow · Rating 3 out of 5]

You can't have it all. That's the big takeaway I took from this book. You can climb all 14 8,000 meter peaks, and cross the gobi and antarctica and greenland on foot, but that does make you a good husband or a nice person. Maybe that's a little harsh, I guess I was just disappointed that he came across as distant from his wife and children and only cared about going on expeditions.

In terms of mountaineering he is indisputably the greatest mountaineer of all time. I loved hearing about all of his expeditions. In fact I wish the book would have focused more on them than his ventures into politics, but that might be on me and book choice.

It was good to get an overview of his life, I think some of his other books might interest me more, I tended to get bored whenever he was talking about anything that wasn't one of his high elevation climbs.

[Alberto Martín de Hijas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Messner fue probablemente uno de los alpinistas más importantes de la historia (Y uno de los más egocéntricos, aunque sus motivos tiene) En esta larga entrevista (O serie de entrevistas) se reconstruye su biografía y se detallan muchos aspectos de su vida. Desde luego el personaje es interesante y se agradece que no se eviten los temas más polémicos, aún así, el libro es irregular. La parte correspondiente a sus ascensos es interesantísima y transmite toda la épica de la montaña (incluso para un lego como yo) pero decae con la parte dedicada a un intervención en política y a sus proyecto museísticos (por mucho que estos sean una consecuencia de la primera) En cualquier caso, es un libro interesante, aunque no seas aficionado a la escalada (Supongo que si lo eres ganará bastante)

[Alina Stoica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Probably not everyone will like Messner since he's an individual that lives by his own rules and never gives in to pressure from others about what he should do, or who he should be; sometimes at the expense of other people's egos and expectations. That kind of uncompromising way of living can be easily perceived as harsh and unsentimental. But, objectively, Messner seems to be a person with a lot of integrity and willingness to help others, having put a lot of effort in improving his homeland, the South Tyrol.

I personally admire his way of being, his mentality, and achievements and have a felt a very deep connection with him since the first moment I set foot in his museum (MMM Firmian). I just knew I had to know more about the man. Hope others will enjoy it too.

[shpotakovskaya · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m not a big fan of autobiographies.
usually when people recommend me a book from this genre we have the same type of conversation (I swear, it already happened at least three times) which sounds something like this:
hey, you have to! read this book
uhm… i will check it out on goodreads sometime...
no, I mean like asap
look, autobiographies just not my cup of tea, i know, that’s odd
*suspicious look*
if you are just not interested in my recommendations thats ok, you can just say it, I won’t blow up
agh, seriously, can’t find myself enjoying reading them
but you love books, you read even crappy ones, you also love people... even crappy ones, and claim to be a good listener
I KNOW! right? I still can't figure it out, why? WHY? *this is the part where I start whining about it*

I can’t quite explain the reasons why i dislike those books as much, suppose that's because of the fact, that autobiography is usually written by the person who is not a writer, and a solid book is just to big of a challenge.
but once in a while there is a biography that turns out to be a berry.
this one certainly was.

there is nothing in this life that makes me more frightened, anxious and yet excited then mountains.
for now, all that I do is quietly worship and respect them from the distance. gathering every information I can find, tracking specialized sites and wondering what bank i have to rob so I can find money for all of this stuff.

to step away from me, myself and I, and add a few words about book itself (which I *ahem* rarely do here). Messner is definitely an outstanding person, a true pioneer and a man who has pushed the boundaries of mountaineering, without questions he’ve done some crazy things in life, such as solo ascent of Mt.Everest withal without supplemental oxygen, was the first climber to ascend all fourteen peaks over 8,000 metres was a member of the European Parliament, live in a castle… and I will stop here cos its not even a half of his achievements.
There is always a controversy around him, he has as much supporters as “haters” (ok, maybe more supporters) and I can see why people can't stand him sometimes)) But for me his egocentrism was understandable, and I probably will call it healthy egoism. And I had no problem understanding his decisions during the book.
supposedly, I enjoyed this book more than other autobiographies also because of the reason it’s not quite one, it’s written in a form of an interview between Messner and Thomas Hüetlin, an award-winning German journalist.

overall, to sum up, maybe..maybe if you are not an “aspiring startupper”, you like mountains, personalities as Sherlock Holmes and House, and about to read one of the Richard Branson's book, pick this on first. I liked it more.

[Federica Desi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Molto bella la parte sulle spedizioni, anche se il fatto che sia un botta e risposta fra lui e un giornalista (quindi in sostanza una lunga intervista) non mi è piaciuto molto. La parte sulla sua vita e sulla breve carriera politica non mi è piaciuta, perché non è quello che mi interessa leggere di Messner. Proverò con un libro solo relativo alle sue imprese alpinistiche e sono sicura non mi deluderà.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a compelling read, and the interview format made it very interesting to follow along with. The details, bits and pieces of his life, fall right into place with each question and response. The scenes and explanations were so vividly described, and I was hooked on learning all about Messner and his fascinating life and adventures. I am also very interested in obtaining and reading more of his books very soon.

[Kristiyan Velkov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Страхотна автобиография на един уникален човек. Човек загубил брат си и не се отказал от мечтите си. Човек на който можеш да кажеш "той беше жив"

[Branimir · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Неуспехът, провалът сам по себе си не е важен. Ключът към проблема са настъпващото непосредствено след него въздействие върху Аз-а, въпросите и съмненията. Това е ново начало и възможност човек да узнае докъде се простират границите на неговите възможности и да ги надрасне."

[darío hereñú · Rating 4 out of 5]

La montaña exige honestidad.
Es fácil llegar a esa conclusión leyendo este o cualquier libro sobre Messner.
Así, si te mentís, tarde o temprano, morirás.
La conclusión, a algunos les parecerá monolítica.
Otros, fraudulenta.

------------------------

Y a través de todo el libro, Reinhold siendo escrutado por cierto periodista alemán, irá -con su particular visión acerca de lo que ha vivido, escuchado, visto- fatigando, destruyendo, enalteciendo, despotricando, aclarando, acicateando, destituyendo pareceres, puntos de vista, vivencias, razones.

------------------------

-¿Qué papel desempeñaba Dios en su infancia?
-No más que el cura, una costumbre.
-¿Es usted un sabelotodo?
-No. Pero todo lo que afirmo no lo aprendí en la universidad. Lo viví.

------------------------

Los pensamientos de Messner, y particularmente en ciertos párrafos en el capítulo IV resultan lapidarios. Es fácil arribar a la conclusión que nosotros -los humanos- tendemos sospechosamente a humanizar todo. El Annapurna no es “la montaña asesina”, la nieve no te ciega (sino la exposición continua sin protección a los rayos ultravioletas), los seracs no se mueven a propósito cuando uno está sobre ellos; los animales no juegan con cartas marcadas; el clima no entiende de religiones, sexos, ideología, sacristías; el sentido común -en la zona de la muerte, a 8.000 metros de altura- apenas es recordado, siquiera deseado.
En la naturaleza no existe la justicia, siquiera el bien y el mal, no hay preguntas menos aun respuestas, no existe la avaricia, el desamor, las matemáticas, las religiones, los merecimientos…
Es un libro que nos invita a reflexionar y replantearnos nuestra relación con la Naturaleza. Desde hace siglos somos invasores de la misma y si vale recordarlo, la raza humana es el mayor depredador que haya existido jamás.
No escarmentamos.
Desde hace siglos vivimos quebrando equilibrios...

[Ludmila · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I was reading the book, I kept asking myself, “if I had the mountaineers skills, would I want to go on an expedition with this guy?”
I would, since he is such an enigmatic person. But I would also know that he would not wait for me, would not help me down a cliff, would leave me stranded if I could not make it fast enough - because in his mind a human is capable of anything without help if s/he tries hard enough. He doesn’t let other people’s weakness get in the way of his own ambitions.

I remember when Messner came to give a lecture to my colleagues: he looked shy and modest, and spoke, almost humbly, about his ability to reinvent his life every ten years. Messner has an incredible ability to control his thoughts, his body, his mind. It is an incredible skill to have. To such an extent that it is scary- he simply doesn’t allow any other worldview than his own.

This is what he said of the Trans-Antarctica expedition:

“The trick is to empty your mind and not to think, ‘Well, that’s one more step done, ten million to go,’... On expeditions like that, I take it one day at a time; I think about that day’s stage, then I drift off into fantasyland.”

[filobus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un libro che si propone di spiegare le motivazioni, i pensieri, lo stile di vita dell'autore, a metà tra resoconto di imprese, tappe di vita, diario ma soprattutto una sorta di possibile guida per manager e affini.
Non è tanto (secondo me) un modello necessariamente da imitare, o un metodo da seguire bovinamente, quanto un libro e delle idee con cui confrontarsi, senza dubbio.
Alcuni trovano antipatico Messner, e sicuramente un po' egotico lo è (d'altra parte cosa ci si può aspettare da uno che ha vissuto imprese che se non sono del tutto solitarie comunque ci si avvicinano?). Francamente non mi è risultato tale, e d'altra parte non mi interessa giudicarlo. Posso giudicare il suo libro: l'ho trovato a tratti anche molto interessante, anche se non avvincente, un po' prolisso e ripetitivo in alcuni concetti. Un buon editor avrebbe giovato.

[Margarita · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an easy to read book, a series of conversations and interviews, but the man speaking is so unique in his achievements, so crystal clear in his understanding of what drives him and his life's purpose that I ended up going back and rereading and making notes on most subjects he touched. Self sufficiency, ecology and environment, and political dialog in the age if globalization particularly struck a note. It is really not so much about being the world's most accomplished alpinist, it is about having big ideas, living to the max and not taking hostages and having no regrets. Wonderful book that I will keep around - I have a feeling this will be a year of non fiction reading mostly.

[Любопитка · Rating 4 out of 5]

Разговор с човек притежаващ впечатляващ дух и воля, прекосил и надскочил границите си многократно. Човек, който има по различно разбиране за живота и смисълът му. Обогатяваща и мотивираща книга. За повече виж: https://prezprozoreca.wordpress.com/2...

[Jean Dupenloup · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’ve always found Reinhold Messner to be as horrible a writer as he is an excellent mountaineer.

I thought perhaps this book, which presents an organic conversation, would be more engaging. I was wrong.

Total snooze fest. Not worth a read.

[Stefanie Dettmers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ein wahnsinnig intensives Buch, unglaublich spannend und tiefgründig. Die Weisheitsperlen, die Messner zwischendurch immer wieder fallen lässt, sind unbezahlbar. Was für ein Leben und was für ein kluger und super kreativer Mensch!

[Aris Zacharis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Η αγωνία στο κατακόρυφο. Μάλλον ζει από τύχη...αλλά ζει!

[Socrate · Rating 3 out of 5]

La alpinismul de altitudine am ajuns printr‑o întâmplare. Eram student pe vremea când, în 1969, m‑am alăturat unei expediţii tiroleze în Anzi, pentru că Kurt „Gagga“ Schoißwohl, un excelent căţărător de stâncă, n‑a mai putut să participe. Pe atunci voiam să mă fac inginer constructor. Când m‑am întors la Universitatea din Padova, după mai bine de un an, după o expediţie pe Nanga Parbat încheiată tragic, după amputarea mai multor degete de la picioare şi falange de la mâini, nu mai eram în stare să‑nvăţ. Aşa că m‑am făcut alpinist de altitudine. Stingherit în escalada pe stâncă, în special de durerile provocate de degetul inelar de la mâna dreaptă, m‑am concentrat de aici încolo către munţii înalţi ai Pământului. Am călătorit mult, am condus şi grupuri ca să‑mi asigur traiul, am povestit despre expediţiile mele în cărţi şi la prelegeri, am ajuns în curând să fiu reprezentantul unei generaţii dornice de aventură de alpinişti şi călători, care aveau mijloace reduse sau prea puţine posibilităţi pentru a urca la astfel de altitudini, lucru care nu le era accesibil multora. Voiam să acumulez experienţe pe careapoi să le povestesc. Pe urmă, m‑au preocupat întotdeauna incertitudinea, această stare de cumpănă între viaţă şi moarte, şi vulnerabilitatea omului în partea înaltă a Pământului.

[Cris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Llevaba mucho tiempo queriendo leerme algún libro de Messner y no sé muy bien por qué ha sido éste el primero en llegar a mis manos (o más bien a mi ebook).

Me quito el sombrero con todo lo que ha hecho este hombre en su vida, increíble. Y también me muero de la envidia... ya me gustaría a mí haberlo hecho y sobre todo tener la suerte de salir vivo de todas y cada una de sus aventuras.

El libro se lee de una forma muy fácil, la estructura es coherente (desde sus primeros años hasta 2005) y aunque es formato entrevista no se hace ni pesado, ni largo. En él cuenta mil y una historias y vivencias, además de cómo fue la muerte de su hermano y cómo esto, en vez de hundirle y alejarle de las montañas, lo empujó a vivir como quería y como pensaba.

Como anécdotas me quedo con dos: 1) cuando más daño se ha hecho y peor parado ha salido no ha sido corriendo ninguno de los peligros a los que se exponía en sus expediciones, escaladas... sino saltando el muro de su casa (moraleja, siempre hay que estar alerta y tener cuidado) y 2) Tiene granjas ecológicas con las que se autoabastece. ¡Me ha parecido muy top!

Si lo que buscas es un libro para conocer la vida de una de las personas que ha vivido las aventuras con las que la mayoría soñamos... ¡Te lo recomiendo!

[Mosco · Rating 2 out of 5]

NON è un libro d'avventura e anche la dicitura "autobiografia" mi pare un tantino ingannevole: il libro è una lunga intervista da parte del giornalista T. Hüetlin, il nome del quale meriterebbe di essere citato come coautore un po' più spesso, con qualche inserto autobiografico di Messner. Il quale risponde senza reticenze né imbarazzi a quasi tutte le domande e addebiti, anche sulla sua vita privata, sulla tragedia del Nanga Parbat dove perse il fratello, sulle risse con colleghi, pubblici amministratori, giornalisti. Libro consigliato solo a chi volesse sapere tutti i cazzi del Messner, perché di avventura non ce n'è moltissima. Questo per quanto riguarda il libro. Per quanto riguarda il protagonista: nel complesso il personaggio Messner non ne esce molto simpatico, anzi. Mi ha confermata nell'impressione di un narcisista al quale non interessa piacere agli altri: piace già, difettacci compresi, alla persona che lui stima e ammira di più al mondo: sé stesso, e tanto gli basta. Già mi stava sulle balle prima, adesso di più: non credo che sia indispensabile essere odiosi per essere dei grandi uomini.

[Kaitlyn Zeichick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t agree with a lot of what Messner says. A lot of his opinions are traditionalist - from relationships to mountaineering. He refers to climbing Everest nowadays as like being in kindergarten (which in comparison to his accomplishments might be fair, but very degrading), and believes that a woman should find the man, take care of the kids, and let the man leave to go do his own thing. He’s also strongly opinionated.

But I also respect a lot of what he’s done, and some of his worldviews. He’s constantly looking for new challenges, and believes that most of the joy comes before the accomplishment. Whatever he sets his mind to, he devotes his whole self, from climbing the 8,000 meter peaks to creating his museums.

The book itself was a 4/5. I liked the interview format, but sometimes the questions jumped back and forth between topics in a way that wasn’t smooth. I also think the chapters could have been divided by topics instead of dates.

[Василь · Rating 5 out of 5]

Враження від книги лише найкращі. Читати одне задоволення, як і кришталевий горизонт. Формат інтерв’ю, теж дуже цікавий і навіть кращий за автобіографію суху, оскільки журналіст ставив незручні і часом особисті запитання, на котрі Райнгольд без проблем відповідає. Книгу хочеться читати і читати і десь на 800 сторінок було би дуже добре:)
Проте, українське видання розчарувало. Видавництво TravelBook підтримало традицію радянських видавців і просто обманює читача тим, що пише - переклад з німецької, а насправді переклад з російської. Так як в СССР робили більшість перекладів. Неприпустимим і є те, що перекладач, напевне, російськомовна у житті і тому книга рясніє купою русизмів і неукраїнських слів. Ще й ціна української книги на 30% більша за російськомовну версію. Одним словом, нашим виданням розчарований...

[Libor Jelenek · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Life at the Limit was my first book by Reinhold Messner, and it certainly won’t be my last. He is one of the most fascinating adventurers of our time — a man with both a philosophical mind and a deeply human, emotional side.

What makes this book so powerful is the rare inside view it offers: not just of his legendary climbs and expeditions, but of the reasoning and purpose behind them. You don’t have to agree with all of his views to appreciate the honesty and conviction with which he lived. Messner has always stayed true to himself, even if that meant ruffling feathers along the way.

This is more than a mountaineering memoir — it’s a mature reflection on risk, dedication, and the will to push human limits. Inspiring, thought-provoking, and a reminder of what it means to live with purpose.

[Alive69 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Libro intervista che racconta la vita "movimentata" di Reinhold Messner, dall'infanzia alle prime aperture del MMM, il suo ultimo progetto. A tratti coinvolgente, a volte indecifrabile, la trama della stesura a volte si perde (sia pur legata ad una chiave cronologica). A volte ho trovato delle domande fuori contesto, altre a cui forse la risposta poteva essere più approfondita. Trattandosi della prima lettura sulla vita dello scalatore potrebbe trattarsi di temi affrontati in altri libri... Lettura per appassionati!

[Ο χρήστης τάδε · Rating 5 out of 5]

Δεν χρειάζεται να είσαι αλπινιστής η ορειβάτης για να διαβάσεις αυτό το βιβλίο. Δεν χρειάζεται καν να έχεις σχέση με τα βουνά. Μιλάει ουσιαστικά για τα ανθρώπινα όρια της σωματικής και ψυχολογικής δύναμης μέσα από τις εμπειρίες του. Ο Θρυλικός Reinhold Messner σε ταξιδεύει στα ψηλότερα βουνά του κόσμου δοκιμάζοντας τις δυσκολότερες αποστολές μια εκ των οποίων είναι η πρώτη ανάβαση του Έβερεστ από άνθρωπο χωρίς βοηθητικό οξυγόνο.

[Denis Blidariu · Rating 4 out of 5]

All in all a good book. Easy and thrilling, keeps you tight to it but in the end, gave me mixt feelings about Messner. He is to be appreciated in many ways but also made me question some things about him as a human being in other ways.
I enjoyed this book but would have enjoyed it even more if I would have seen more of his detailed monologues. Instead, this book is more like a written interview.

[Rob Mayfield · Rating 3 out of 5]

Messner has lived an incredible, adventure-filled life.

This book was a bit of a retrospective, but it lacked a lot of the details I was hoping for. The timeline of dates and events at the end was probably the most engrossing part of the book.

I did appreciate the blunt questions put forth by Huetlin, and the blunt answers given by Messner.

I will have to read some of the books that Messner wrote about his adventures firsthand.

[Ryan Meyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

a mixed bag of great insight and disappointment in this interview with Messner. It's easy to see where many of his more individualist liberal philosophies come from with respect to his background and his lives experiences, but it is frustrating how his thoughts bounce between brilliant and shortsighted. Don't meet your heros! It is a worthwhile conversation nevertheless. Hearing Messner's own thoughts on a broad overview of the major events of his life is still fairly interesting.

[Svetla Dobreva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Признавам си, очаквах повече от книгата.
Тази на Боян Петров, макар и малко по-суховата , ми беше доста интересна и докрай държа вниманието ми.
Иначе, няма спор, Меснер е легенда в историята, не само на алпинизма, а и на екстремните приключения изобщо.
Нямах си представа, че освен планините, има и други достижения: прекосяване по диагонал на Гренландия, прекосяване на Антарктика, множество пешеходни обиколки през Тибет, Непал...

[Andre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Herr Messner is quite a legend in mountaineering, not only for his achievements but also his arrogant and controversial personality. This book does a good job of summarising his life and achievements. I think the writing style is not very engaging (Q&A style) and I’d rather they spent more time talking about some of the mountain stories than the political and personal aspects of his life.