Review: "Denali's Howl" by Andy Hall

Denali’s Howl is gripping, harrowing nonfiction account of a 12 man expedition to reach the summit of Mount McKinley in 1967. Formally called Mount Denali, it is the tallest mountain in North America. Although 12 went up the mountain, seven never returned. This is the account of what happened and the “perfect storm” that descended on Mt. Denali that sealed the climbers’ fate.

I found this book very informative and fast moving. I don’t know anything about mountain climbing but I found this very easy to read. Enough facts were provided that I could understand what was going on but I didn’t get lost in details. I wanted to keep reading to find out how and why the catastrophe occurred. I appreciated the author’s knowledge and delivery of the subject. The only thing I found confusing was keeping track of who was who. This was by no means the author’s fault though since there were 12 climbers and he allowed you to get to know each one.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves to read nonfiction. It is very enlightening and you don’t have to be a mountain climbing enthusiast to find it interesting and compelling. You will start the story and not be able to put it down till you turn the last page.