Dead Mountain / Donnie Eichar

   I don't remember where I heard about this book but if it was from you, THANK YOU, because it was really good and really nuts.

   SO, Donnie Eichar heard about and decided to investigate the infamous Dyatlov Pass Incident, where nine experienced mountaineers mysteriously fled from their tent in sub-zero temperatures in almost-Siberia and died in the snow. When the bodies were found they were mostly missing boots and any kind of substantial outerwear, and the tent had been cut open from the inside with a knife. There was no evidence of anyone other than the hikers being anywhere near the tent at the time, and no one has been able to figure out what happened to them since 1959, until now (maybe).

   At first I was all "I am NOT going to like this Donnie fellow," because he seemed like he was the type of person who is weirdly entitled to other people's stories. But, he spends a portion of the book saying that he felt like he was intruding, like it wasn't his business or his place to investigate this story, and so on, and I said, "okay, Donnie. I guess we're cool." I'm sorry I assumed you'd be a prick, Donnie Eichar. You don't seem like one.

   I read this book over Christmas/New Years at home and at a campy-retreaty thing, which maybe isn't the best time to read something that says DEAD MOUNTAIN on the front because people will say "cheery reading, eh?" and "festive" and ""what in the world are you reading?" and "are they dead yet?" NON-STOP while you do. But I do like to enthuse about stories like this, so whenever people asked I'd say "GET THIS, so imagine you're in Siberia, right?" and carry on with the bits of mystery and weird sequence of events that investigators figured out, and then say "CRAZY, right?" and get back to reading. My brother swiped it from me and read it in a day.

   The conclusion that Eichar eventually comes to is a somewhat anti-climactic when compared to some of the more alien-heavy theories that people have espoused over the years, but it makes sense. If you're looking for some investigative-journalism type reading then I highly recommend this one.