MixedThe Michigan DailyAn epic account of the Great Himalayan Race ... every detail of this complex struggle is thoroughly recounted ... The story is beautifully written ... it soon becomes clear that the story doesn’t have any real direction. It falls into a repetitive cycle, where every few pages a new expedition is described in unnecessary detail without the necessary emotion to compel the reader to keep reading. Ellsworth breezes by the death, hardship and trials of the human spirit that characterize these grueling expeditions with a nonchalant ease, leaving us with a [book] that describes these events with an almost textbook impartiality. The World Beneath Their Feet is meticulously researched, but the level of detail that Ellsworth incorporates about the innumerable climbers he discusses makes the novel dense and unpleasant to read ... a barrage of names, dates and purposeless facts that only serve to confuse the reader and draw all emotion out of the story. Each new climber Ellsworth introduces becomes just another faceless individual, lost in the sea of dreamers who more often than not do not achieve their goals ... Though an avid mountaineer may enjoy this...it is inaccessible to the average person looking for a glimpse into the mysterious minds of Himalayan climbers.
