I read this book last year, and I’m not sure why I didn’t review it then, but it was eye-opening.  High Crimes, written by Michael Kodas.

http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=yoasspa-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=B00134XEQO

The book talks about how over time, once permits became more easily available to anyone with enough money, the Everest mountaineering scene has changed.  More tourists, less qualified folks, more accidents, more shady guides and expedition organizers, a sketchier black market in equipment, and more.

It’s a good read not only for mountaineering fans like myself, but for anyone interested in some unintended consequences of apparently-good economic decisions (opening up a previously closed / controlled market in permits to free capitalism).

Well-written, fun to follow, and both shocking and entertaining at different times, I liked it.