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Back to topBradford Washburn, an Extraordinary Life: The Autobiography of a Mountaineering Icon (Paperback)
Description
Here at last is the thrilling memoir of the legendary mountaineer Bradford Washburn, one of the last explorers and adventurers of the twentieth century. Drawing from decades of memories, journals, and an exquisite photographic collection, Washburn completes the self-portrait of a man drawn to altitude, from his first great climb of Mount Washington at age eleven, through numerous first ascents of peaks all over the world, to handily scaling a climbing wall at eighty-eight.
Indeed, Washburn also became renowned for his pioneering work in aerial photography, his dedication to science and cartography, his decades of leading Boston's Museum of Science, and his close association with the National Geographic Society.
This mountaineering icon candidly offers an intimate look at a life devoted to the world's highest places, to the friends who challenged the mountains with him, and to wife Barbara, who shared his adventures for nearly sixty-five years.
About the Author
Bradford Washburn was an explorer, mountaineer, photographer, cartographer, and former director of the Boston Museum of Science. Washburn gathered many awards over the course of his career, including nine honorary doctorates, the Centennial Award of the National Geographic Society (shared with his wife, Barbara, the first woman to summit Mount McKinley), and the King Albert Medal of Merit. Award-winning writer Lew Freedman has written more than twenty books on sports and personalities in traditional and adventure sports. He has won nearly three hundred journalism awards for his work for the Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer, and Anchorage Daily News.
Praise For…
"...Washburn looks back on his multifaceted career, which includes pioneering work in aerial photography in Alaska's mountains, 13 first ascents of Alaskan peaks and a decades-long relationship with the National Geographic Society. The autobiography also offers rare photographs and little-known anecdotes about Washburn's World War II service and other explorations."
—Photomedia
“...the mountaineering icon shares tales of his pioneering work in climbing and aerial photography, and anecdotes about famous pals like Amelia Earhart."
—ForeWord Footnotes
“Park visitors will love reading about one of the last ... explorers and adventurers of the twentieth century. Dr. Bradford Washburn, renowned for his pioneering work in aerial photography in Alaska’s mountains, his thirteen first ascents of Alaskan peaks, his devotion to science, and his decades-long relationship with the National Geographic Society..... Washburn is also famed for his meticulous cartography, having mapped Mount McKinley, Mount Everest, and the Grand Canyon. He led the first ascent of the popular West Buttress route on the 20,320-foot Mount McKinley. And for four decades, he’s been a major player in leading and developing Boston’s Museum of Science. This autobiography also offers rare photographs and little-known anecdotes about Washburn’s World War II service, other explorations, and his special partnership with his wife, Barbara.”