Support Us
Five Books
 
Search
MENU MENU
  • Nonfiction
        • NONFICTION BOOKS
        • BEST NONFICTION 2023
        • BEST NONFICTION 2024
        • BEST BIOGRAPHIES
          • Historical Biographies
          • The Best Memoirs and Autobiographies
          • Philosophical Biographies
        • True Crime
        • History Books
          • World War 2
          • World History
          • American History
          • British History
          • Chinese History
          • Russian History
          • Ancient History (up to c. 500 AD)
          • Medieval History
          • Military History
        • Art
          • Art History
        • Travel Books
        • Essays
        • Philosophy Books
          • Ancient Philosophy
          • Contemporary Philosophy
          • Ethics & Moral Philosophy
          • Great Philosophers
          • Social & Political Philosophy
        • Classical Studies
        • Science
          • New Science Books
          • Astronomy
          • Biology
          • Chemistry
          • Maths & Statistics
          • Popular Science
          • Physics Books
        • Nature
        • Environmental Books
          • Climate Change Books
        • Language
          • How to Write
          • English Grammar & Usage
          • Books for Learning Languages
          • Linguistics
        • Politics & Society
          • Political Ideologies
          • Migration
          • War
          • Foreign Policy & International Relations
          • American Politics
          • British Politics
        • Religion
          • Theology
          • Buddhism
          • Christian
          • Islamic
          • Jewish
          • Religious History Books
        • Law
        • Psychology
          • Mental Health
          • Neuroscience
          • Self Help
          • Child Psychology
        • Music & Drama
          • Film & Cinema
          • Opera & Classical Music
        • Economics Books
          • Behavioural Economics
          • Development Economics
          • Economic History
          • Finance
          • Financial Crisis
          • World Economies
        • Business Books
          • Investing Books
        • Technology
          • Artificial Intelligence/AI Books
          • Data Science Books
          • Computing
        • Health & Lifestyle
          • Happiness
          • Sex & Sexuality
          • Death & Dying
          • Education
        • Food & Cooking
        • Sports, Games & Hobbies
  • Fiction & Literature
        • FICTION BOOKS
        • BEST NOVELS 2024
        • BEST FICTION 2023
        • Contemporary Fiction
          • New Literary Fiction
        • World Literature
        • Literary Criticism
        • Literary Figures
        • Classic English Literature
        • American Literature
        • Poetry
        • The Best Memoirs and Autobiographies
        • Comics & Graphic Novels
        • Fairy Tales & Mythology
        • Historical Fiction
        • Horror
        • Humour
        • Crime Novels
        • Science Fiction
        • Short Stories
        • Romance
        • Thrillers
        • Mystery
        • Fantasy
  • World
        • Africa
          • Egypt
          • Ghana
          • Nigeria
          • Rwanda
          • South Africa
          • Zimbabwe
        • Americas
          • Latin America
            • Argentina
            • Brazil
            • Caribbean
            • Chile
            • Cuba
            • Mexico
          • United States
          • Canada
        • Arctic & Antarctica
        • Asia
          • Afghanistan
          • Bangladesh
          • Myanmar (Formerly Burma)
          • China
          • India
          • Japan
          • Kazakhstan
          • Korea
          • Pakistan
          • Sri Lanka
          • Singapore
          • Vietnam
        • Australia
        • Europe
          • Azerbaijan
          • Belgium
          • Britain
          • France
          • Georgia
          • Germany
          • Greece
          • Ireland
          • Italy
          • Netherlands
          • Norway
          • Russia
          • Spain
          • Ukraine
        • Middle East
          • Iran
          • Iraq
          • Israel
          • Palestine
          • Syria
          • Turkey
          • Yemen
  • Kids
        • Kids Recommend Books for Kids
        • High School Teachers Recommendations
        • Prizewinning Kids' Books
        • Popular Series Books for Kids
        • BEST BOOKS FOR KIDS (ALL AGES)
        • Books for Toddlers and Babies
        • Books for Preschoolers
        • Books for 6-8 Year Olds
        • Books for 9-12 Year Olds
        • Books for Teens and Young Adults
        • THE BEST SCIENCE BOOKS FOR KIDS
        • BEST KIDS' BOOKS OF 2024
        • BEST BOOKS FOR TEENS OF 2024
        • Best Audiobooks for Kids
        • History
        • Economics
        • Environment
        • Mental Health
  • Best Books of 2024
        • Best Books for Teens of 2024
        • Best Kids' Books of 2024
        • Best Novels of 2024
          • Historical Fiction
          • Science Fiction
          • Fantasy
          • Mystery & Crime
          • Romance
        • Best Nonfiction of 2024
          • Travel Writing
  • New Books
    • NEW BOOKS
    • New History Books
    • New Literary Fiction
    • New Historical Fiction
    • New Biography
    • New Memoirs
    • New World Literature
    • New Economics Books
    • New Climate Books
    • New Math Books
    • New Science Books
    • New Philosophy Books
    • New Psychology Books
    • New Physics Books
  • Audiobooks
    • THE BEST AUDIOBOOKS
    • Actors Read Great Books
    • Best Audiobooks for Kids
    • Books Narrated by Their Authors
    • Best Audiobook Thrillers
    • Best History Audiobooks
  • Book Awards
    • Nobel Literature Prize
    • Booker Prize (fiction)
    • Baillie Gifford Prize (nonfiction)
    • Financial Times (nonfiction)
    • Wolfson Prize (history)
    • Royal Society (science)
    • NBCC Awards (biography & memoir)
    • Pushkin House Prize (Russia)
    • Walter Scott Prize (historical fiction)
    • Arthur C Clarke Prize (sci fi)
    • The Hugos (sci fi & fantasy)
    • Audie Awards (audiobooks)
    • Wilbur Smith Prize (adventure)
  • Experts

Nonfiction Books » Sports, Games & Hobbies » Sport & Sporting Culture

The White Spider: The Classic Account of the Ascent of the Eiger by Heinrich Harrer
Buy now

The White Spider: The Classic Account of the Ascent of the Eiger

by Heinrich Harrer

Recommendations from our site

“The book centres on the north face of the Eiger, and the history of climbing that iconic face. It’s such a page turner. I mean, the north face of the Eiger has a train that runs right next to it, that will take you all the way up. When a rope failed, the climber was next to the railway and the people in the train could see this climber but they couldn’t get to him to save him. It’s an amazing story and it’s sometimes truly horrifying.” Read more...

The best books on Mountaineering

Anna Fleming, Memoirist

Other books by Heinrich Harrer

Seven Years in Tibet by Heinrich Harrer

Seven Years in Tibet
by Heinrich Harrer

Our most recommended books

  • Self Theories
    by Carol Dweck

  • Uncommon Places
    by Stephen Shore

  • Underworld
    by Don DeLillo

  • My Beautiful Sisters: A Story of Courage, Hope and the Afghan Women’s Football Team
    by Khalida Popal

  • Global Games (Sport and Society)
    by Maarten Van Bottenburg

  • Hosting the Olympic Games: the Real Costs for Cities
    by John Rennie Short

Support Five Books

Five Books interviews are expensive to produce, please support us by donating a small amount.

About

We ask experts to recommend the five best books in their subject and explain their selection in an interview.

This site has an archive of more than one thousand seven hundred interviews, or eight thousand book recommendations. We publish at least two new interviews per week.

Five Books participates in the Amazon Associate program and earns money from qualifying purchases.

Newsletter Contact us Privacy Policy Terms of Service Mastodon Social

© Five Books 2025

Get our newsletter