Abstract
For some 25 years this book has served as primary background reading for a generation of individuals with a burning curiosity of the human experience with high altitude. First published in 1980 as Going High: The Story of Man at Altitude, this 5th edition is published under the title Going Higher: Oxygen, Man, and Mountains and continues to evolve. The format remains the same, but the new cover photo will catch your eye at the bookstore, as will the 2 additional authors who have joined Dr Houston. The result is a smooth, easy reading style and expanded text that retains the very enjoyable historical perspective, practical advice, and the telling of anecdotes that facilitate a meaningful understanding of the effects of a lack of oxygen on the human body.
As in the previous edition, the book is divided into 4 distinct sections. Part I describes the physics of atmosphere and the essential role of oxygen to nearly every living organism. Part II takes the reader through an easily understandable review of the process of oxygen delivery from the air to tissue in the body. Part III is an up-to-date summary of mountain sickness and its diverse manifestations. Part IV offers practical information re garding acclimatization, prevention and treatment of altitude illness, and additional topics that affect our performance at altitude. The back of the book contains a glossary of medical and scientific terms that has been retained to aid lay readers and a brief historical biography of the early investigators that brought us this knowledge through to the mid-1900s.
Six new chapters expand the scope and detail of the book. The new chapters titled “Mountain Illness: The Air Up High” and “The Body Up High: Cellular and Vascular Responses to Hypoxia” present more detailed biology and physiology. A more complete description of medical conditions found at high altitude is provided with the addition of specific chapters discussing vision and the eye at altitude and chronic and subacute mountain illness. A chapter titled “Genetics of High-Altitude Performance” presents up-to-date information that is not readily available in other basic texts. And a new chapter, “Limits to Work at Altitude”, gives an easy-to-understand explanation of practical concepts.
This book is intended for both lay and medical readers with a desire for accurate detailed and comprehensive information that goes miles beyond what is found in other basic texts and on the Internet. At US $22.95, the cost of the book has not changed in 7 years, so this new, improved 5th edition is a better value than ever.