I'll Call You in Kathmandu: The Elizabeth Hawley Story

I stumbled upon this a few years ago and wasn't sure what I would expect of it. I knew Elizabeth Hawley was the font of all knowledge regarding the Himalya and mountaineering ascents in that region. What I didn't know was her background and how she came to be in charge of collating the massive database that is the Himalayan Index. An interesting lady, an interesting life and soon to be the end of an era.

McDonald has had a difficult job at hand: How to write a book about a living legend who herself seems to have little to tell, and of whom others offers mainly superlatives about the job she has done. Hawley has for decades done vital work in Kathmandu, providing mountaineering data. Without stories connected to these data, or about her, this book seems rather insignificant.

I've been after this bookfor a while for my husband. he absolutely loved it and read it in about 3 nights. He has kept it as well so will certainly read it again. The parcel arrived promptly and well packaged, so thank you

If you are interested in Nepal mountaineering, you will enjoy this book for its detailed profile of an unusual woman. Bernadette McDonald gives a fairly balanced assessment of Elizabeth Hawley, who played a remarkable role in climbing circles despite a stereotypical elitist attitude that prevented her from appreciating her adopted country and its people.My main gripe with this book is its writing style, which is full of trivia about Hawley's youth and more workmanlike than engaging. Here's one example: "The exception was when there was heavy work to be done; here she saw heavily veiled women carrying heavy loads." McDonald may be a magazine editor, but in this effort she badly needed an editor of her own. Rarely have I been so put off by an author's style (or complete lack thereof).The best material could be rewritten as a superb magazine article in, say, The New Yorker. But if you're interested in the topic -- say, like I, you want a book to take on your Nepal trek -- you'll find it worth reading.

I've heard of Elizabeth Hawley, the story is wonderful and wrll written. Good resorce for anyone interested in Napal and the Himalaya.