In this book, the author describes his climbing adventures prior to his solo mountaineering days. He began with mountains in Ecuador guided by American Alpine Institute, culminating in a climb of the highest peak in the country, Chimborazo (20,564 feet), in 1989. Because of its height and its proximity to the Equator, it is the highest mountain on Earth when measured from sea level and closest to the Sun when measured from the Earth's core. The next year, he went to Bolivia with the same company and climbed peaks there, the most notable, Illimani (21,122 feet). In 1991, he journeyed to Argentina to attempt the highest mountain in the Andes, Aconcagua (22,841 feet), by the difficult Polish Glacier Direct route, once more with AAI. After that expedition, he felt he had the skills to try things on his own, and he tells of certain of those climbs in his, "Clawing for the Stars. A Solo Climber in the Highest Andes".

When most altitude climbers reach their mid-forties, they slow downbut for Bob Villarreal, these years marked the beginning of his climbing career rather than the end. At forty, he took a rock-climbing class, but it wasnt what he was looking for. In a moment of pure and life-changing serendipity, an article about climbing the Andes lit a new fire within him, and an obsession was born. At that point, Bob retired from business and took up mountain climbing. He lost his heart to the staggering, raw, and wild beauty of the High Andes, returning there time and time again to challenge himself, almost always on his own. In defiance of the basic rules of wilderness exploration, Bob traveled solo, well aware that calamity was only one loose rock away and that his survival was never guaranteed. One might wonder why anyone especially someone in middle age -- would climb alone in the Andes even once, let alone nineteen times (out of thirty total climbs). Its a question that Villarreal himself cant adequately answer. Was he in search of adventure, danger, or deeper meaning in his lifeand did he ever find his elusive purpose on the mountain? This memoir recalls his perilous adventures on famous Andean peaks as well as mountains in the remotest parts of the Andes along the lengthy border between Chile and Argentina.

It is 1492 when the discovery of the Americas by Columbus closes out the Middle Ages and sets the stage for the modern history of the New World. While new lands beckon adventure seekers focused on discovery, conquest, and settlement, a few hundred men sent forth by the King of Spain leave on expeditions to explore the new territories and search for gold and power. One of these adventurers, Pedro de Mérida, becomes a conquistador and chronicler of the New World – and one who will ultimately leave a vibrant record of his travels in Chile and Peru. In a fascinating retelling through six letters to the king, a sixty-year-old de Mérida documents his travels to the farthest regions of the Inca Empire. As he captures the spirit of adventure and invites others into his story of the conquest of Chile in his first three letters, the conquistador details the Diego de Almagro Expedition to Chile in 1535 to 1537 and the return to Peru, a distance of more than three thousand miles. The Adventure Chronicles of Conquistador Pedro de Mérida shares an unforgettable travel adventure back to a remote land and age when the search for gold and power dominated men’s actions as historical events shook the foundation of the mighty Inca Empire.

USAGE PERMISSION: I, the copyright holder of this work, release it into the public domain and it applies worldwide. In some countries this may not be legally possible; if so: I grant anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law. Author: Xeménex. (Posted on Wikimedia.) To appreciate this book to the fullest, please visit the website: bobvillarreal.com, and experience what the author calls: “Read the book and view the site with its images and historical documents, a new and exciting way to enjoy a book.” Copyrighted 2013.

When most altitude climbers reach their mid-forties, they slow down-but for Bob Villarreal, these years marked the beginning of his climbing career rather than the end. At forty, he took a rock-climbing class, but it wasn't what he was looking for. In a moment of pure and life-changing serendipity, an article about climbing the Andes lit a new fire within him, and an obsession was born. At that point, Bob retired from business and took up mountain climbing. He lost his heart to the staggering, raw, and wild beauty of the High Andes, returning there time and time again to challenge himself, almost always on his own. In defiance of the basic rules of wilderness exploration, Bob traveled solo, well aware that calamity was only one loose rock away and that his survival was never guaranteed. One might wonder why anyone - especially someone in middle age -- would climb alone in the Andes even once, let alone nineteen times (out of thirty total climbs). It's a question that Villarreal himself can't adequately answer. Was he in search of adventure, danger, or deeper meaning in his life-and did he ever find his elusive purpose on the mountain? This memoir recalls his perilous adventures on famous Andean peaks as well as mountains in the remotest parts of the Andes along the lengthy border between Chile and Argentina.

New York Times Bestseller “A refreshingly unadorned account of the true brutality of climbing K2, where heroes emerge and egos are stripped down, and the only thing achieving immortality is the cold ruthless mountain.” — Norman Ollestad, author of Crazy for the Storm In this riveting work of narrative nonfiction, New York Times journalist Graham Bowley re-creates one of the most dramatic tales of death and survival in mountaineering history—the 2008 K2 ascent that claimed the lives of eleven climbers In the tradition of Into Thin Air and Touching the Void, No Way Down is the harrowing account of the worst mountain climbing disaster on K2, second to Everest in height. . . but second to no peak in terms of danger. On August 1, 2008, no fewer than eight international teams of mountain climbers—some experienced, others less prepared—ascended K2, the world's second-highest mountain, with the last group reaching the summit at 8 p.m. Then disaster struck. A huge ice chunk came loose above a deadly three-hundred-foot avalanche-prone gully, destroying the fixed guide ropes. More than a dozen climbers—many without oxygen and some with no headlamps—faced the nearly impossible task of descending in the blackness with no guideline and no protection. Over the course of the chaotic night, some would miraculously make it back. Others would not. From tragic deaths to unbelievable stories of heroism and survival, No Way Down is an amazing feat of storytelling and adventure writing, and, in the words of explorer and author Sir Ranulph Fiennes, “the closest you can come to being on the summit of K2 on that fateful day.”

A page-turning novel that is also an exploration of the great philosophical concepts of Western thought, Jostein Gaarder's Sophie's World has fired the imagination of readers all over the world, with more than twenty million copies in print. One day fourteen-year-old Sophie Amundsen comes home from school to find in her mailbox two notes, with one question on each: "Who are you?" and "Where does the world come from?" From that irresistible beginning, Sophie becomes obsessed with questions that take her far beyond what she knows of her Norwegian village. Through those letters, she enrolls in a kind of correspondence course, covering Socrates to Sartre, with a mysterious philosopher, while receiving letters addressed to another girl. Who is Hilde? And why does her mail keep turning up? To unravel this riddle, Sophie must use the philosophy she is learning—but the truth turns out to be far more complicated than she could have imagined.