The history of high-altitude physiology and medicine is such a rich and colorful topic that it is surprising no one has undertaken a comprehensive account before. From the early balloonists to various high-altitude expeditions, culminating in the great feat of climbing Mount Everest without supplementary oxygen, the basic biological challenge of hypoxia has underpinned the human experience at high altitude. Of key importance in several areas of medicine including pulmonology, critical care, anesthesiology and cardiology, this topic is also of general interest to other life sciences such as biology and ecology, because hypoxia is encountered by many organisms throughout the animal kingdom.
High Life covers the topic from its earliest beginnings with the Greeks to the last two or three years, and highlights many geographical locations, such as China, Japan, India and Russia. Including 185 illustrations, over 800 references, and three appendixes detailing the chronology of main events, databases of high-altitude publications, tables of high-altitude locations, a list of classical books on the topic and narratives of classical and modern high-altitude expeditions, this book is a comprehensive reference text which should be of value to anyone interested in high altitude and hypoxia.