Der dritte Pol, by G. O. Dyhrenfurth. Munich: Nymphenburger Verlag, 1960. 263 pages, 35 ills., 16 maps, 4 sketches, 6 profiles. Price D.M. 28. To be placed beside the standard Himalayan series edited by Marcel Kurz is the reedition of Professor Dyhrenfurth’s Zum dritten Pol (1952), in which the author compiled the historic events of climbing attempts and successes up to that time. In the new edition he covers the Himalayan decade 1950-1960, during which, for the first time, 8000-meter peaks were gained. The author evaluates success on Annapurna I, in 1950, as equal to the attainment of the Poles. The narrative continues to Dhaulagiri in 1960. There is also a chronological chapter in which the ascended 7000- meter peaks of the world are included. With Professor Dyhrenfurth’s immense personal experience (leader of two Himalayan expeditions during which the first ascents were made of four 7000-meter and five 6000-meter peaks), it is not surprising that we are offered the best documented book of its kind. This applies equally to the well-chosen illustrations, maps, route sketches and geologic profiles. A rich bibliography concludes an outstanding work.

J. Monroe Thorington