High Crimes: The Fate of Everest in an Age of Greed

"High Crimes is both fascinating and terrifying. As someone who shies away from climbing stairs, let alone mountains, I was completely blown away by the high-stakes drama and intrigue of this Everest story. Kodas's vivid writing kept me up for two straight nights, and my heart is still racing! The story is tragic, yet somehow also uplifting--a true masterpiece!" -- Ben Mezrich, New York Times bestselling author of Bringing Down the House and Rigged  

"Seeking to experience the high ambitions of an Everest climb himself, Michael Kodas found instead the little-known underworld of the world's tallest peak . . . compelling reading for anyone who thinks mountaineering is a noble pursuit." -- Greg Child, author of Over the Edge

"The perfect follow-up to Krakauer's riveting account of a perfect storm."
--Miami Herald

"Kodas's absorbing description of the narrow moral compass governing human interaction at the top of the world is bound to shock both armchair adventurers and seasoned mountaineers." --Chicago Tribune

"(Kodas) discovered more deceit, thievery, and double-crossing among his climbers than you find in a Martin Scorsese gangster film. High Crimes is both an adventure story and an exposé of a sport riddled with danger and corruption." --Washington Post Book World

"Kodas's descriptions of the struggles confronting even the best-prepared climbers leave the reader breathless." --Dallas Morning News

"[High Crimes] is hair-raising and lays bare the excitement and fear that face great explorers at the top of the world. . . . Well written, and as deftly plotted as the finest mystery novel, Kodas brings to life a disturbing picture of society at high altitude." --Austin Chronicle

"Kodas does an excellent job exposing the ways in which money and ego have corrupted the traditional cultures of both mountaineers and their Sherpa guides. . . . His narrative is as hard to turn away from as a slow-motion train wreck." --Publishers Weekly