The Altitude Journals

A Seven-Year Journey from the Lowest Point in My Life to the Highest Point on Earth

By: David J. Mauro

Narrated by: David J. Mauro

Length: 11 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

When David Mauro was in his 40s, his life hit rock bottom. With nothing to lose, he left everything he knew behind and set out on an epic international adventure. For the next seven years, Dave trudged across glaciers and frozen wastelands and through dense, dangerous forests. He communed with penguins and elephants, kept company with cannibals and gunrunners, and spoke with the dead. And though he’d never been a climber, he ended up joining history’s courageous few when he ascended into the clouds to stand at the summit of Mt. Everest.

Drawn from Dave’s personal diaries, The Altitude Journals is the poignant, inspiring, and endlessly exciting true story of a remarkable midlife crisis. It is an unforgettable tale of one man who went to amazing extremes to repair a shattered life - and how he regained the powers to love and forgive, and to believe in himself once again.

©2018 David J. Mauro (P)2018 David J. Mauro

Very entertaining and inspiring

I downloaded this book and listened to it every time I got in the car. I started making excuses to be in the car. The story is true, compelling, well told and inspirational.

The author shows true humility as he describes his experiences including his challenges, inner demons, his inner journey and impressive accomplishments.

Thank you David for sharing your amazing story!

High-altitude climbing book for us mere mortals!

The only other climbing book I have ever read was "Into Thin Air." It was suspenseful (what fate would befall all these people?) And it was shaming (of some of the people who seek to climb high peaks, the profit motives of those that guide them, and of the decisions that some people made on that fateful day in May 1996).

Dave Mauro's book is none of these things. First and foremost, it's up-lifting. There is no major suspense about the fate of the protagonist (he authored and read the book, after all). And there is no cynicism. It is a heartfelt telling of the climbs and the people that make up Mauro's Seven Summits. It is also a most sincere and even tender accounting of the ups and downs of his's life's journey -- a journey that takes him into the mountains and becomes the purpose of his climbs.

The book is really well written and I truly enjoyed Dave Mauro's reading of this book. No doubt that his background as an improv actor helped him read the book in a way that makes you really feel like you're being told a story, rather than having a book read to you. I was enthralled being taken along on his journey. I think the author set out to tell a story of an every-person who accomplishes something great -- and he believes that great things are achievable by all. But as I listened to his descriptions of these climbs, it became very clear to me that my fear of heights would paralyze me -- and what HE did is something truly extraordinary.

A Climbing Book for the Non-Climber

Great book following Dave on his journey. Details the climbing from a beginner's perspective, and gives insight to the human side of climbing. Some interesting descriptions of the positive and negative aspects of his trips to help put you right there with him.

Mountain Climber Journal

Man, if you're a mountain climber, you'll really dig this book.

If you're NOT, skip it entirely, as it reads as one long journal entry...about mountain climbing.
I did pick up some vibes about perseverance (from the mountain climbing) but overall, this is a skip for me.

I skipped to the end to see if this book took a turn but it was just more of the mountain climbing.

Honestly, I was expecting more of a inspirational-type story but this book is NOT it.