Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident (-)

The New York Times and Wall Street Journal Nonfiction Bestseller that explores the gripping Dyatlov Pass incident that took the lives of nine young Russian hikers in 1959.

What happened that night on Dead Mountain?

In February 1959, a group of nine experienced hikers in the Russian Ural Mountains died mysteriously on an elevation known as Dead Mountain. Eerie aspects of the mountain climbing incident--unexplained violent injuries, signs that they cut open and fled the tent without proper clothing or shoes, a strange final photograph taken by one of the hikers, and elevated levels of radiation found on some of their clothes--have led to decades of speculation over the true stories and what really happened.

Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident delves into the untold story through unprecedented access to the hikers' own journals and photographs, rarely seen government records, dozens of interviews, and author Donnie Eichar's retracing of the hikers' fateful journey in the Russian winter.

An instant historical nonfiction bestseller upon its release, this is the dramatic real story of what happened on Dead Mountain.

GRIPPING AND BIZARRE: This is a fascinating portrait of young adventurers in the Soviet era, and a skillful interweaving of the hikers' narrative, the investigators' efforts, and the author's investigations. Library Journal hailed "the drama and poignancy of Eichar's solid depiction of this truly eerie and enduring mystery."

FOR FANS OF UNSOLVED MYSTERIES: Unsolved true crimes and historical mysteries never cease to capture our imaginations. The Dyatlov Pass incident was little known outside of Russia until film producer and director Donnie Eichar brought the decades-old mystery to light in a book that reads like a mystery.

FASCINATING VISUALS: This well-researched volume includes black-and-white photographs from the cameras that belonged to the hikers, which were recovered after their deaths, along with explanatory graphics breaking down some of the theories surrounding the mysterious incident.

Perfect for:

  • Fans of nonfiction history books and true crime
  • Anyone who enjoys real-life mountaineering and survival stories such as Into Thin Air, Buried in the Sky, The Moth and the Mountain, and Icebound: Shipwrecked at the Edge of the World
  • Readers seeking Cold War narratives and true stories from the Soviet era

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288 pages

Average rating: 7.67

112 RATINGS

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8 REVIEWS

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Community Reviews

S.Head
Jan 07, 2025
9/10 stars
I really enjoyed this book. I had very basic knowledge of this event before reading it. But how the author tells this story is fantastic. 3 different view points and in a way that is very easily read and not dense like some nonfiction can be.
tkatz1317
Aug 02, 2024
9/10 stars
I love the approach - how the story is told from 3 perspectives: the hikers, the search teams and investigators, and the author on their journey. Great way to present the mystery
xohshee
Jul 12, 2024
9/10 stars
Opinion: Investigative mystery by Donnie Eichar uncovering the details behind the eerie Dyatlov Pass incident in 1959. I loved this book and Eichar goes the distance in uncovering this mystery, from pouring through old case files to partnering with case experts and traversing the mountains himself. Eichar does a good job of alternating between present-day investigations and past events; they are separate chapters throughout the book so some chapters are denser than others. At times I felt Eichar used too much creative freedom in recounting the past but when paired with photos and journal entries from the hikers, it created a real emotional connection for me, and I totally cried. At the end of the book, Eichar offers his own conclusions of what really happened, and I’ll leave it at that. Synopsis: Eichar exhaustively investigates the mysterious death of nine hikers in the Russian Ural Mountains by digging into case files, journals, and interviews. Eichar also teams up with scientists and current case experts and journeys to the Ural Mountains in an attempt to retrace the steps of these hikers. Eichar alternates from 1959 to present day in recounting the group’s final few weeks and the original investigation of their deaths. There are personal elements of the hikers throughout the book in the form of photos and journal entries. Eichar does exercise his own creative storytelling when recounting events, which may detract from the authenticity of events, but it makes for an immersive story. POTENTIAL SPOILER… In the last chapter, Eichar takes full creative freedom (and explicitly mentions so) in recreating a story of the hikers’ last two days based on evidence.
J_W
Jun 29, 2024
10/10 stars
Really interesting story. Very well written, great detail.
oh_let3
May 16, 2023
8/10 stars
Incredibly engaging and maddening trying to figure out the groups true fate

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