Book Review: Dead Mountain

Amazon previews it like so:

In February 1959, a group of nine experienced hikers in the Russian Ural Mountains died mysteriously on an elevation known as Dead Mountain. Eerie aspects of the incident—unexplained violent injuries, signs that they cut open and fled the tent without proper clothing or shoes, a strange final photograph taken by one of the hikers, and elevated levels of radiation found on some of their clothes—have led to decades of speculation over what really happened. This gripping work of literary nonfiction delves into the mystery through unprecedented access to the hikers' own journals and photographs, rarely seen government records, dozens of interviews, and the author's retracing of the hikers' fateful journey in the Russian winter. A fascinating portrait of the young hikers in the Soviet era, and a skillful interweaving of the hikers narrative, the investigators' efforts, and the author's investigations, here for the first time is the real story of what happened that night on Dead Mountain.

I picked this one up at the library intrigued by the "answer to the ancient mystery" aspect it promised, and it did just that.

I read it late one night, which admittedly had my energy down a bit in trying to be patient with the elaborate portrayal of:

- The personalities of each of the travelers
- The fairly uneventful details of the hikers' trip prior to their final destination
- The mostly unproductive visits he made with Russian people who had little to offer in solving the mystery

I came away feeling that if you pieced together the first and last 20 or so pages, and included the description of how the bodies were discovered from the middle, you'd end up with a pretty good 50-page book instead of a 250-page yawner. The devotion of author Donnie Eichar to the case - including leaving a newborn child behind for his Russian trip - is admirable for the benefit of the reader, but the pages spent romanticizing Russia's people and history was off the mark for a pragmatist like me.

Maybe I should re-read it when I'm more awake... but I still recommend it as a good pickup from the library as I did, if not worth paying full price at a store.